Lost Girls Found
by Shastadragonairtamer
Summary: After leaving Boston Massachusetts behind due to trouble with the law (which is nothing unusual for them) Luna, Rose, Katie & Amber end up in Santa Carla California, and manage to catch the eye of a certain group of undead bikers. Can they survive the Murder Capitol Of The World? (Title & summary suck I know, but hopefully the story doesn't, rated M to be safe)
1. Meet The Cast

**AN: This is my story that I've been uploading on Wattpad (SpiritedHeart94 if you wanna check it out there) and is mostly why I haven't been working on my other projects as of late, so I apologize for that -_-"**

 **I've decided to post it here too because I wanna know what you guys think of it, don't be afraid to criticize, but no flames please!**

* * *

 **[Meet The Girls:]**

 **Name: Luna**

 **Age:** 20

 **Gender:** female

 **Talents:**

• singing

• an expert in kickboxing & aikido

• good with kids

• can speak cherokee & Cheyenne

• plays the reed flute

 **Eyes:** blue

 **Hair:** black (slightly wavy, reaches almost to the back of her knees & usually kept in a fishtail braid)

 **Skin Tone:** copper (she's half Cherokee & half French)

 **Body Type:** slightly toned

 **Height:** 5' 2"

 **Likes:**

• kids (unless they act like spoiled brats)

• reading

• music

• singing

• animals

 **Dislikes:**

• fake/nosy people

• anyone that disrespects her heritage or tries to hurt the people she loves

 **Biggest Fear:** losing her loved ones

 **Overall Personality:** The "leader" of the four, she's usually quiet, calm, and collected, but if you piss her off she _WILL_ kick your ass (especially if you hurt a child) She's kind & protective to her loved ones and has a sense of humor, but it's a bit on the twisted side.

* * *

 **Name:** **Rose**

 **Age:** 20

 **Gender:** female

 **Talents:**

• can talk people into/out of almost anything

• can somehow always tell when a person is lying

 **Eyes:** blue

 **Hair:** chocolate brown (straight, reaches mid-back)

 **Skin Tone:** olive

 **Body Type:** slim yet curvy

 **Height:** 5' 3"

 **Likes:**

• cigarettes

• motorcycles

• music

• her friends

 **Dislikes:**

• fake people

• liars

• her parents (especially her dad)

• anyone that tries to hurt her friends

 **Biggest Fear:** running into her parents again

 **Overall Personality:** intelligent, serious (yet fun-loving, has a sense of humor) slightly manipulative, has a tough exterior, but cares deeply for the people she loves

* * *

 **Name: Katie**

 **Age:** 19

 **Gender:** female

 **Talents:**

• guitar

• dancing

• singing

• good with machinery

 **Eyes:** hazel

 **Hair:** dirty blonde (layered, reaches her mid-back)

 **Skin Tone:** slightly tan

 **Body Type:** slim

 **Height:** 5' 1"

 **Likes:**

• motorcycles

• food

• rock music

• playing guitar

• smoking pot

• pulling pranks (especially on Amber)

 **Dislikes:**

• pop music (especially Justin Bieber)

 **Biggest Fear:** losing her friends

 **Overall Personality:** funny, surprisingly smart, fun-loving, and completely crazy (but in a good way)

* * *

 **Name: Amber**

 **Age:** 19

 **Gender:** female

 **Talents:**

• sewing

• drawing

• has a natural gift with animals

 **Eyes:** amber (hence the namesake)

 **Hair** : golden blonde (slightly curly, reaches her lower back)

 **Skin Tone** : fair

 **Body Type:** slim & slightly curvy

 **Height** : 5' 0"

 **Likes:**

• art

• music

• motorcycles

• pizza

• pulling pranks

 **Dislikes:**

• preppy/slutty bitches

• anyone that tries to hurt the people she loves

 **Biggest Fear:** dying

 **Overall Personality:** kind, smart, funny, a total prankster, sneaky, protective of her loved ones


	2. Getting Out

_"Goddammit!_ Move your ass Katie! They're gaining on us!"

"Not for long!"

Turning down a narrow path, Katie, Amber, Luna & Rose managed to scale a chain link fence & make their way through the now-familiar maze of alleyways.

They'd been in Boston Massachusetts for almost three months now, and the cops in the area were catching on to them more often, so they were trying to get some fast cash to buy themselves bus tickets and finally get out of town.

This was the fifth time in one week that they'd been caught pick-pocketing.

The cops were far enough behind them that they didn't see when the girls turned down a dead-end alleyway before moving a couple of old beer-kegs to reveal a small basement window, which they quickly climbed through and managed to move the kegs back into place before they could catch up, making it seem as if they'd just vanished into thin air.

 _"SON OF A BITCH!"_

The girls had to bite back their laughter when the cops started yelling.

"Where the _FUCK_ did they go?! They couldn't've just disappeared!"

"Fuck it, they got away _AGAIN_! Lets just head back, we'll get those little bitches next time!"

"That's what you said last time dickhead!" The leader whispered under her breath, making the others cover their mouths to keep from laughing.

After they heard them walk away & their footsteps were long gone, the girls finally lost it.

"Oh my _god_ that was funny! I can't believe the one guy actually threw a tantrum, he acted like an overgrown seven year old!"

"I know right?!"

"Ok, ok. It _was_ pretty funny, but now we need to see how much money we got."

"I hope it's enough, I'm sick of this hellhole!"

"Katie, we're _all_ sick of this place!"

"I know Amber, I just wanted to complain because I know it annoys you." Amber reached over & punched her shoulder in retaliation.

" _OW_! Luna! Amber's abusing me!"

Luna just rolled her eyes & pulled out all the wallets she'd collected that day.

"Alright girls, lets see 'em!" The others pulled out their 'spoils' and altogether, they'd managed to grab twenty-five leather-bound wallets.

"So, how much we got Rose?"

Said-woman finished counting out the money & gave them a triumphant smirk. "Enough to get roundtrip tickets from NYC to LA."

"YES! Finally! We're getting the _hell_ out of here!" Amber cheered as the others laughed.

" _Heeeey_ , what do we have here?" They turned to see Katie pull a small bag of weed out of one of the wallets.

"Well, Timothy Wright, you're my kinda guy!"

The others just rolled their eyes & gathered up the now empty (of cash only) wallets, after finding a plastic bag laying nearby, Luna packed them up.

"Ok, I'll go drop these off, you three head to the bus stop & wait for me. If I'm not there in an hour, leave without me."

She grabbed the bag & climbed out the window before heading off toward the police station while the others headed off to the bus stop.


	3. Get Me To The Bus On Time

***With Luna***

 _"Finally!"_

Spotting the police station up ahead, Luna made sure no one was around before walking over to the side of the building, quickly tying the bag up & tossing it so that it landed by the door.

Picking up a small pebble, she walked far enough to where she could make a quick getaway before throwing it, hitting the glass on the door & making a loud noise.

"Perfect shot, as usual." She smirked and ducked behind a dumpster when she saw a cop opening the door, he looked at the bag curiously before carefully untying it, after looking around & seeing no one in sight, he shook his head in bewilderment before carrying it inside.

"Ok. Now that that's over, I'd better haul ass!" She did exactly that as she took off in the direction of the bus stop.

* * *

 ***With the others***

"Where the _fuck_ is she?! The hour's almost up!"

"She'll be here, don't worry!" Rose tried to reassure an anxious Katie, but it had been 55 minutes already with no sign of Luna anywhere.

"I swear to god, if she's not here in the next _ten_ _seconds_ I'm gonna-"

"You're gonna _what_ Katie?"

They spun around to see said-woman standing there, arms crossed & eyebrow raised in a challenging manner.

"What the hell took you so long?!"

"A black cat crossed my path, so I had to take the long way." She retorted sarcastically, causing Katie to roll her eyes in annoyance. "Haha, very funny bitch!"

"So, where _are_ we going exactly?"

They all thought it over for a minute.

"We could go to California, anywhere's better than here to be honest." No one made any arguments about their leader's decision.

"Awesome, the sun, the sand, the surf, sounds like fun. I'm in!" Everyone laughed at Katie's statement & moved to walk toward the doors to the bus stop.

"HEY YOU!" They spun around to see the two cops from earlier standing across the busy street.

"Shit! Run for it girls!"

Not needing to be told twice, they quickly ran inside & rushed up to the ticket booth.

"When's the next bus to California leaving?!"

"The bus leaves for Santa Carla California in five minutes." The man answered.

"Great! How much for four tickets?"

"One way or round trip?"

"You're kidding right?"

The man just shrugged before quickly ringing it up. "$450"

Luna quickly pulled out the money and they thanked the man before grabbing their tickets & hauling ass to the bus as the cops came through the door.

They managed to get to the bus on time & handed the driver their tickets.

"Boy, you girls are lucky, I was _just_ about to leave!"

They simply smiled before grabbing empty seats in the back as the bus began to move.

"Hey, look!" Amber smirked and motioned for them to look out the back window, where they saw the two cops completely out of breath and giving death glares to the retreating bus. The girls broke into triumphant grins before giving them the middle-digit salute and laughed when they saw one of them throw his hat on the ground before going into another tantrum-fit.

"Well girls, say goodbye to Boston."

"Bye-bye Boston!" Katie said in a babyish voice while waving her hand in a childish manner, causing all of them to laugh.

"Santa Carla, here we come!"


	4. Arrival In Santa Carla

***Luna's POV***

"Hey, wake up Luna!"

"Hm, wha?" I groggily opened my eyes to find Rose gently shaking me awake, she & Katie were the only two that were (fully) awake, and I saw Katie get an evil smile on her face before leaning in close to Amber's ear. I quickly plugged my ears so my eardrums wouldn't burst.

 _"HEY!"_

Amber screamed & bolted upright while Katie began laughing her ass off, getting strange looks from the other passengers on the bus.

"You _bitch_!" Amber punched Katie in the shoulder & Rose scolded them when they started play-fighting.

' _It's too early for this shit.'_ I shook my head at their childish behavior before yawning & stretching my stiff muscles. ' _How long have I been asleep for anyway?'_

I looked out the window to see that the sun was setting, so I'd slept though the day.

"Hey, look!" Amber started pointing out the window, I looked up ahead & saw a huge billboard sign that read _Welcome To Santa Carla!_ , I turned to look as we went past it to see that someone had spray-painted _Murder Capitol Of The World_ on the back in blood-red letters.

" _Murder Capitol Of The World_ huh? Sounds like fun." Katie seemed more annoyed than intimidated at the warning, but I couldn't help but feel slightly uneasy.

I _really_ hope that it was just some moron's idea of a joke.

I paused when I suddenly felt a strange tugging sensation in my chest and put my hand over my heart, only to feel it pounding beneath my palm. I breathed slowly, trying to calm my racing heart, and eventually it went back to normal.

' _Strange, that's never happened before...'_

"Luna, are you ok?"

I turned to see Rose looking at me in concern and nodded before trying to give her a reassuring smile.

"Yeah, I'm fine, just a bit nervous I guess." She looked like she didn't buy it completely, but nodded anyway and turned to keep an eye on Katie & Amber.

* * *

The bus had finally stopped, we quickly got off and groaned as we stretched our aching legs.

"I _hate_ public transportation!" Katie groaned while cracking her back. I looked around and was amazed at what I saw.

We were right next to a boardwalk, the bright flashing lights from various rides, the smell of carnival food & ocean air, and the distant sound of music from a live concert assaulted my senses as I took it all in. Not to mention that most of the people here were dressed a lot like us!

All in all, it was amazing!

"Ok, lets try to find a motel, then we'll look around the boardwalk. Sound good?"

The others nodded & we started looking, it took us almost two hours before we finally found a cheap motel room with two beds. We were used to sharing beds by now, so we didn't really care.

After getting the keys to our room, I slipped mine in my pocket before we headed off to the boardwalk. After the bus tickets & the motel room, we had about $4000 left (hey, we've been saving for months!)

"Ok girls, looks like we each get some spending money, just don't spend it all in one night. That means _you_ Katie!" I teased while handing over her share and she stuck her tongue out at me before grabbing it & putting it in her pocket.

"Why don't we get something to eat first? I'm hungry as hell!"

"That's because you smoked two joints in one hour genius." Amber teased & Katie grabbed her in a headlock before giving her a noogie, Amber managed to break free & they started play-wrestling.

I shook my head at their antics before looking around & spotting a hotdog stand a few feet away.

"Since we're on a budget, how does hotdogs sound?"

They all made noises of agreement and I shooed the diabolical duo away to find a bench while Rose & I went to get the food. We'd all decided on foot-longs since we wanted to get something cheap yet filling, and it was only $2 for a foot-long.

Rose & Katie wanted theirs with nacho cheese, Amber wanted relish, and I decided to just get ketchup. I was standing in line with Rose when I suddenly got that tugging feeling in my chest again, only it was much stronger this time.

I turned when I heard the sound of motorcycles and felt like my heart was gonna burst out of my chest when I saw four men go by.

The one in front had a platinum blonde mullet & the most piercing-blue eyes I've ever seen, he was obviously the leader. There was a girl on the back of his bike, she was dressed like a gypsy and her dark brown hair was huge & curly, but I didn't pay too much attention to her.

As the others went by, I noticed that the second one looked like Twisted Sister, and the third one had an _amazing_ patchwork jacket on that I know Amber would _love_ to steal.

When my eyes landed on the fourth, I swear I felt my heart stop.

He was different from the others due to the fact that he was (quite obviously) Native American due to his dark hair & copper skin. I briefly wondered what tribe he was from before I noticed that there was a little kid who couldn't have been older than ten on the back of his bike, his brown hair nearly reached his shoulders & his military jacket looked absolutely adorable on him, he was most likely his little brother or his son.

The man's dark eyes suddenly locked with mine and I felt my face heat up before quickly turning away to see that Rose was staring after them too. I heard someone clear their throat and saw that the vendor had our order ready, so I got Rose's attention & we paid for the food before walking over to Katie & Amber.

We started eating before I noticed that the guys from earlier were parked about twenty feet away from us.

The girl & the kid from earlier weren't with them and I almost busted out laughing when I noticed that they were dressed almost EXACTLY like us (with a few minor differences of course) but managed not to do so as I kept eating.

"Hey, if you girls like 'em big, I got a king size for ya!" The one that looked like twisted sister (and Katie's near-double due to how he was dressed) yelled & I rolled my eyes as the dark haired one slapped him in the back of the head.

"No thanks, we're not into cocktail weenies!" I yelled back, causing his friends to double over in laughter & the girls to giggle. We quickly finished our food before throwing out our trash & walking off into the crowd, I heard the sound of boots following us and went to move closer to the girls.

" _Heeey_ beautiful, what's your name?"

I turned when I felt someone grab my arm & found an (obviously) drunk guy with a giant green mohawk getting a little too close for comfort. I pulled my arm free of his sweaty grip and grimaced.

"None of your business. Now back off!"

"Hey now, don't be like that! Come hang with me & I'll show you what it's like to be with a _real_ man."

I smirked before moving closer & putting my arms around him.

"Sorry honey, I'm not into pussies." I whispered in his ear before pulling away and shoving him backward, he stumbled for a bit before landing flat on his ass, causing his friends to laugh as I walked away to rejoin the girls. I moved up next to Katie and saw her smirk as I held up the wallet that I'd snatched off of him.

I heard someone chuckle and turned to see the four bikers from earlier not far behind us, the leader was smirking at me and I teasingly put my finger to my lips before smiling & turning away to hand the wallet to Katie, who stuck it in her coat pocket.

I saw a carousel up ahead and we made our way towards it, the sound of heavy footsteps following us there.


	5. Carousel Conflict

**AN: sorry about the multiple switching POVs -_-"**

* * *

 ***Luna's POV***

We finally made it to the carousel and jumped on while it was still moving, not caring about the disapproving looks we got from a few stuck-up mothers with their bratty kids.

We moved around while trying to find some empty horses when Rose suddenly bumped into a woman who was wearing a skirt that could _barely_ pass off as a belt & a shirt that showed more cleavage than a plumber's ass.

"Watch where you're going _bitch_!" The slut roughly shoved Rose backwards, causing the guys she was with to laugh & Rose to nearly fall over if Katie hadn't caught her.

Rose growled & stood up, ready to punch the bitch's nasty yellow teeth out, but I put my arm out to stop her.

"Forget it Rose! The slut's not even worth it."

 _"EXCUSE ME?!"_

"You heard me. Now kindly get out of our way, or I'll let her rip you apart."

Rose gave her the most evil look I've ever seen and the bitch seemed to take the hint as she & her group moved to let us pass.

We eventually found a couple horses and I picked a black one with a silver saddle while Rose picked a white horse with a gold saddle. Katie & Amber decided to just stand next to us and Katie handed me the wallet I'd snatched earlier, I opened it up & found $50 inside, along with a dime-bag, which I tossed to Katie, her eyes lit up like a kid on Christmas before she put it in her pocket.

I tossed the now-empty wallet off the carousel, not caring where it landed, and heard the familiar sound of heavy boots before turning to see the four men from earlier step onto the carousel, I also saw the other group sitting on a bench a little ways behind us, the platinum blonde walked over to the woman and caressed her cheek while the other three made catcalls.

One of the goons (whom I guessed was her boyfriend) didn't seem to like that very much, and for some reason I wanted to kill the bastard when I saw him grab the dark haired one & they began to fight.

I heard footsteps and turned to see an overweight security guard making his way towards us, he lightly brushed against my leg, and in that split second, something happened that I hadn't experienced since I was nine years old.

I had a vision.

 ***Luna's vision***

 **The platinum blonde grabbed the guy that was messing with his boys by the throat & I watched as the guard roughly put his nightstick around his neck.**

 **"I told you to stay off the boardwalk!"**

 **The blonde smiled & chuckled darkly.**

 **"Ok boys, lets go!"**

 **The guard released him before turning to the ones that started the fight.**

 **"You too. Off the boardwalk."**

 **Suddenly the whole scene changed, all the lights on the boardwalk were off, the music was no longer playing, and everyone had long-since gone home. Only a few street lamps lit up the nearly-abandoned parking-lot. I saw the guard casually making his way to his car, and that's when things turned weird.**

 **A sudden gust of wind picked up, nearly blowing his hat off. He turned to look behind him and suddenly started screaming & running, desperately trying to get to his car. When he got there, he tried to open the door, only to find it locked. **

**As he desperately tried to open it, he was suddenly lifted into the air by an unseen force, it was so strong that the door was ripped clean off of the car!**

 **I never saw what grabbed him, but I'm beneath the boardwalk now, and I almost scream when the guard's dead body suddenly drops right in front of me, his throat ripped out & his body torn to shreds.**

 ***End of vision, Luna's POV***

When I have visions, they seem to go on for minutes, sometimes even hours, but in truth, they happen within a split-second.

I didn't know what the _hell_ I'd just seen, but somehow I knew that if the guard interfered in the fight, he wouldn't make it to sunrise.

I quickly stuck my leg out, causing him to trip & fall on his face. The girls didn't need to be told what to do as they quickly bolted off the carousel and I got off my horse before kicking the guard in the leg. He turned to look at me and I teasingly saluted him before turning to jump off the carousel.

"Hey!"

I turned to make sure he was chasing me while the bikers stood staring after me in confusion, I smiled & winked at them before turning to catch up with the girls.

The guard would probably never know that I'd just saved his life, but at that moment, I couldn't've cared less.

* * *

We finally managed to lose the security guard and were now just casually wandering around the boardwalk, looking at the many shops & stands that lined the streets.

I turned when something caught my eye, it was a little jewelry stand, and what had caught my eye was a simple dream catcher choker with blue beads. I walked over to examine it and after a moment I decided to buy it. I paid the woman that ran the stand & put the beautiful piece around my neck.

"Hey Luna, we're pretty tired. Wanna head back to the room?"

I turned when I heard the sound of waves & saw the beach a little ways away.

"You three go ahead, I'm gonna stay out a little bit longer, I've got a key so I'll be fine."

Rose nodded and I watched her & the girls head off towards the motel before turning to walk down to the moonlit beach, the sand looked white beneath the moonlight and the soft sound of the waves hitting the sand filled my ears.

I saw a couple giant rocks & made my way to the top before sitting down & crossing my legs. I breathed in the scent of the salty ocean air & sighed before reaching into my coat pocket & pulling out my old reed flute, it was a gift from my father, he'd carved it himself & given it to me on my fifth birthday **.** I smiled fondly at the memories that came flooding back to me before putting it to my lips. **(Look up "Dreams Of The Medicine Man" on the album Native American Flute Sleep Music)**

* * *

 ***Third person POV***

She didn't notice a pair of dark eyes watching her from the shadows just a short distance away, entranced by the beautiful & familiar tune that came from her flute as he silently studied her.

Her long black hair, her copper skin, the beautiful music she was playing as if it were second nature to her, she reminded him of home. How long had it been since he'd actually met someone of the same native blood that flowed through his veins?

He couldn't even remember.

As she finished her song, he watched as she stood up & stared off into the darkness with a faraway look in her eyes, which he now noticed were blue as a summer sky.

He watched as she sighed before making her way down the rocks & walking off towards the boardwalk.

 _Dwayne, sun's coming up soon!_

 _I know, I'm on my way back._

He messaged his brother through their mental bond and stared after the woman before lifting off into the air and heading back to the cave he & his brothers called home.

 ***Luna's POV***

I made it back to the motel room & unlocked the door as quietly as I could before opening it to find that the girls were already asleep. I quietly closed the door & locked it before taking off my trench coat & boots and crawling into bed beside Rose.

As I attempted to fall asleep, my mind drifted to a pair of dark eyes. I wish I could've at least gotten his name.

I sighed before closing my eyes.

' _Oh well, there's always tomorrow._ '


	6. Morning Lecture

**AN: this is just a filler chapter to show you a typical morning in the girls lives, hope you enjoy it :)**

* * *

 ***Luna's POV***

"Don't hog all the bacon bitch!"

"Sorry squirt, ya snooze ya lose!"

" _SQUIRT_?! You're only an inch taller than me!"

"That don't change anything! You're still shorter than me, so I have the right to call you squirt, short-stuff, munchkin-"

 _"BITCH!"_

I heard something crash & the sound of two people fighting, so Katie & Amber were at it again.

' _It doesn't matter_ what _time it is, it's too fucking early for this shit!'_

"Will you knock it off?!" I heard Rose yell at the duo.

"Well she started it!"

I sighed when I heard Amber start to argue with her.

' _Goddammit!'_ I sat up and rubbed my eyes before yawning & standing up to crack my back (the cheap mattress I slept on was stiff as hell!)

I turned to see that the girls were arguing amongst themselves and looked over at the digital clock on the little nightstand between the beds, only to see that it was _7:30_ in the morning!

' _Like I said before, it's too early for this shit!'_

I glared at the overgrown five year olds that I call my friends & took in a huge breath.

 _ **"ALRIGHT KNOCK IT OFF!"**_

They jumped & turned to give me sheepish looks.

"Now, you three better have a _DAMN_ good reason for arguing & waking me up at 7:30 IN THE FUCKING MORNING!"

They all started talking at once, pointing fingers & trying to put the blame on someone else, I put my hand up & they immediately shut their mouths.

"One at a time, and at a reasonable volume, I've got a _major_ headache!"

I pointed at Amber. "You first, and if you two try to interrupt I'll snap your necks!" I said while sending the other two looks. They gulped & nodded as Amber started explaining her side of things.

"Rose & I woke up earlier, so we went to get breakfast for everyone. When we came back, Katie was awake and I set the food down on the counter to grab a plastic fork from one of the bags, and when I turned around, Katie was eating _my_ food! Then she started calling me names, so I tackled her!"

Katie opened her mouth to protest, but one look from me made her back down.

"Is that all you have to say about it?" She nodded and I pointed to Katie. "Your turn."

"Ok, well, I woke up about 20 minutes ago and smoked a joint as usual. Then Amber & Rose came walking in with food, so I grabbed mine, and there was only two pieces of bacon! Fucking cheap man! Anyway, yes, I stole a piece of bacon from Amber's box, but that's no reason to freak out on me! She got bitchy, so I started picking on her & she tackled me!"

I sighed & pinched the bridge of my nose before turning to glare at Rose. "Do you have anything to add?"

"Yeah, Katie stole food from Amber & me, but I didn't really care. When they started fighting, I knew you were still sleeping so I tried to break it up, but I got dragged into the argument. That's when you yelled & scared the shit out of us!"

I sighed before saying my piece.

"Amber, you _know_ that Katie smokes every morning, so she usually has the munchies. Next time, keep your food near you so she can't steal from you."

I turned to point at Katie.

"Katie, you're nineteen years old, fucking act like it! And you _KNOW_ that Amber hates being picked on about her height, once or twice while joking around is fine, but don't be a bitch about it. And _don't_ steal people's food, if it'd been me I would've stabbed you in the hand with my switchblade!"

She winced & they both hung their heads in shame.

"And Rose, next time don't stoop to their level, just let it go in one ear & out the other and let them fight like we usually do. I swear it's like I live with _toddlers_!"

Rose hung her head in shame & I shook my head before walking towards the kitchen area (which was really just a small counter with a microwave on it & a small round table with two folding chairs)

"Katie, there'd _better_ not be any food missing from my box, or I'll fucking murder you!"

I heard her make a sound in the negative & opened up the small to-go box to find two pieces of bacon, two pieces of white toast, one hash-brown & one sunny-side up egg.

"Is this all we get?"

"I told you it was cheap!" Katie laughed & walked over to grab her own food.

" _Damn_ , you weren't kidding!"

I heard them laugh & smiled lightly before shaking my head in disbelief & grabbing a plastic fork.

We made small talk while we ate, this was just a regular morning for us (including the arguing & the lectures) I eventually finished my food & threw out my trash before turning to the other three.

"Now, I'm going to take a shower. If I hear about one more argument, you'll be sleeping outside tonight! Got it?!"

They laughed & nodded as I made my way into the bathroom.


	7. A Day With The Emersons

***Luna's POV***

After this mornings shenanigans, we'd all taken showers & gotten ready for the day (which meant hiding in the room wrapped in towels while all of our clothes were put through the washer & dryer three feet from our room, having only one outfit each REALLY sucks!)

Anyway, we'd been walking around town for the past two hours looking for work when I saw a kid who couldn't've been older than 14-15 years old go running by with the most beautiful malamute husky I've ever seen. I watched as he ran over to a woman with short red hair.

"Hey mom, there's an amusement park right on the boardwalk! Can we go later?!"

She nodded before handing him some money.

"Sam, go tell those kids to get something to eat." She said while pointing at two young children that were digging through a dumpster and I smiled as the kid ran over to them. I don't think he realizes how lucky he is to have a mom like her.

I jumped when I heard a loud hissing sound.

"Oh no! Not now!"

I turned to see that the hood of the woman's station wagon was up and noticed that the engine had overheated. I whistled to the girls & motioned for them to follow before walking over to the woman.

"Excuse me, do you need any help?"

The woman seemed startled at first, but gave us a kind smile. "No, it's alright. You don't need to trouble yourselves."

Katie walked over to take a look at the damage. "Oh, I can fix that easily! Do you have a toolbox?"

The woman looked like she was about to protest, but a new voice suddenly cut her off.

"Sure, there's one in the back. I'll grab it for ya."

I turned to see a young man who looked to be about 16-17 years old with curly brown hair grabbing an old toolbox out of a trailer that was being pulled behind the car.

"Michael!"

"It's ok, it's no trouble for me, honest!" Katie grabbed the toolbox from Michael's hands & began to "work her magic" (car or bike, if it's got a motor on it, Katie can fix it)

While Katie worked on the engine, we decided to introduce ourselves.

"Hi, sorry, where are my manners? I'm Luna, that's Katie, Amber, and Rose." I said while pointing to each of us. The woman smiled before reaching out to shake my hand.

"Hi, I'm Lucy Emerson. These are my sons, the eldest is Michael at seventeen & the youngest is Sam at fifteen."

 ***WOOF!***

"And that's Nanook, he's four." She laughed & I smiled when Amber bent down to scratch Nanook behind the ears.

"So Luna, where're you from?"

I raised my eyebrow at Michael when I noticed the way he was eyeballing me.

"Originally, I lived on a reservation in New York."

"Really? So did you just move here?"

I nodded. "You could say that, yeah."

"That's cool, we just moved here from Phoenix!" I smiled at Sam when he spoke up.

"We actually just moved here from Boston."

I saw that Amber was crouched down so she could look Nanook in the eye & it seemed like she was having a silent conversation with him (I don't know how she can do that without being attacked, since male dogs usually see eye contact as a challenge for dominance)

I heard Michael clear his throat & turned to look at him.

"So, how old are you?"

I raised an eyebrow & smirked.

"Too old for you."

I heard the girls (plus Lucy) giggle while Sam snickered. Michael's face turned slightly red and I decided to humor him.

"I'm twenty years old." I smirked when his head shot up in surprise.

" _WHAT_?! No way! You don't look a day over sixteen!" I smiled at Sam's reaction and saw him blush when he realized what he'd just said.

"Huston, we have a problem." We all looked over at Katie to see her scratching the back of her head.

"What's wrong?"

"Well, it seems that you're missing a few tools, so I can do a temporary fix, but it won't last through the night."

Lucy looked thoughtful while Sam groaned.

"We were on our way to my dad's place not too far from here, do you think it'll last till we get there? I'm sure he's got enough tools to build an army tank!"

She smiled and nodded. "Yeah, I can do that."

Katie managed the temporary fix on the engine, and after exchanging small talk with Lucy, we somehow ended up going with the Emerson family to their grandfather's place.

I smiled fondly when I saw that the old man had horses and we got out of the car, I tensed when I saw someone (whom I guessed was Lucy's father) laying on the front porch while said-woman looked a bit worried. She walked over and started trying to wake him up.

"Looks like he's dead!"

"No, he's just a deep sleeper." Lucy tried to reassure us, but didn't sound too convinced.

"If he's dead, can we go back to Phoenix?"

I reached up & lightly smacked Sam in the back of the head while Lucy glared at him, when the old man suddenly sat up.

"Playin' dead! And from what I hear doing a _damn_ good job of it too!"

 _"DAD!"_

Us girls laughed along with the old man while Lucy shook her head & gave him a hug.

I think I'm gonna like this crazy old bastard!

* * *

After introducing ourselves to the old man - who introduced himself as John Emerson - he ended up letting Katie borrow an old shirt while she worked on the car (it seems that the engine wasn't the only problem the old jalopy had!) and the rest of us helped the Emerson family carry their stuff inside.

I walked up the stairs while carrying a box to Lucy's room.

"No way Mike! I was here first!" I turned to look when I heard Sam arguing with Michael.

"Alright, I'll flip ya for it."

Before Sam could answer, Michael suddenly picked him up & flipped him upside down, I nearly died laughing when Sam bit him in the kneecap, causing Michael to let go of him.

" _OW_! You little shit!"

I moved out of the way as Sam went running down the stairs with Michael hot on his heels, quickly setting the box I was carrying in Lucy's room before running over to see Sam passing by his mom.

"MOM! Mom, you gotta help me!"

"Soon!"

Michael chased Sam through the house until they stopped in front of their grandfather's taxidermy room (which by the way was creepy as hell!)

"Talk about your Texas Chainsaw Massacre!" Sam & I laughed as Michael smirked.

 _"RULES!"_

We all jumped & turned around to see their grandfather standing behind us.

"We got some _rules_ around here!"

* * *

"Second shelf is mine! That's where I keep my root beers & my double-thick Oreo cookies. Nobody touches the second shelf but me!"

I bit back a laugh when he showed us a cardboard flap that said "Old Fart" covering the second shelf in the refrigerator. I tuned out what he said next when I heard Michael snap his fingers to get mine & Sam's attention, he pointed to the kitchen window & I laughed when I saw pot plants growing outside, Sam didn't seem to get it until Michael made a "smoking" gesture and pointed after their grandfather, then he laughed.

"Hey grandpa, is it true that Santa Carla is the murder capitol of the world?"

I turned to listen, my interest piqued.

"Well, there's some bad elements around here."

"Wait a second, lemme get this straight, you're telling me that we moved to the _murder capitol of the world_?! Are you _serious_ grandpa?!"

"Well, now let me put it to ya this way; if all the corpses buried around here were to stand up all at once, we'd have one hell of a population problem."

' _Wow.'_

" _Great_ dad." Lucy rolled her eyes and continued carrying her belongings upstairs, Amber & Rose were helping her and they gave me uneasy looks before following her up to her room.

"Now, on Wednesdays when the mailman brings the TV guide, sometimes the address label will be curled up a little and you'll be tempted to tear it off, don't. You'll end up ripping the cover & I don't like that." He said before walking into his taxidermy room.

"And stay outta here!"

He attempted to close the doors before being stopped by Sam.

"Wait, wait. You _have_ a TV?"

"No, I just like to read the TV guide. Read the TV guide, you don't need a TV!" He answered before closing the doors.

Yep, it's official, I like this crazy old bastard.


	8. Back To The Boardwalk

***Luna's POV***

It was just after sunset when Lucy, Sam, Michael & us girls headed to the boardwalk.

"Wow Katie, I don't know _what_ you did, but this old thing runs better than it did when I bought it brand new!" Lucy said in complete disbelief, causing all of us to laugh.

"I've known her since we were seven, and even _I_ don't know how she does it!" Amber laughed and Katie reached over to punch her in the arm.

"OUCH! _ABUSE_! Luna! Katie's abusing me!" Amber laughed before Katie put her in a headlock and gave her a noogie - much to her annoyance - the Emersons laughed as I shook my head.

"Hey, are they always like this?!"

"Unfortunately, yes." I answered Sam as he looked at them in disbelief.

* * *

We finally made it to the boardwalk & Lucy found a place to park.

"Well, I'm off to look for a job. Michael, I want you & Sam to meet me back here around 11:00 ok?"

"Sure mom, whatever."

Lucy nodded & turned to us girls. "I don't know how I can ever thank you enough-"

"You don't have to, we just know what it's like to be stuck in a situation with no one to help you out. Thanks for giving us a ride anyway."

She seemed hesitant, but nodded anyway & we said our goodbyes as we walked toward the bright lights that lit up the boardwalk.

* * *

We'd been walking around for about ten minutes, just glancing at the many stands & shops that lined the streets, when I turned and saw Sam walk into a comic book store.

"Hey cool, comics!"

Amber is a big fan of batman comics, so we ended up getting dragged into the store with her. I shook my head when I saw two (obviously) drugged-out hippies passed out beside a tv.

"Got a problem guys?"

I looked up to see Sam talking to a mini Rambo & a kid that looked like a mini Charlie Sheen when he did 'Platoon'.

"Just scoping out your civilian wardrobe." The kid didn't look older than fifteen, but his voice was _really_ deep.

"Pretty cool huh?"

"For a fashion victim." I rolled my eyes at mini Rambo's remark & tuned out the rest of the conversation when I got that weird tugging feeling in my chest again, I turned to look out the window & saw the four guys from last night drive by.

"Hey, Luna!" I jumped & turned to find Rose trying to get my attention.

"C'mon, we're leaving!"

"Ok, sorry." I went to follow her & jumped again when I felt a hand grab my arm.

Then to my surprise, I had another vision, only this time it was slightly different.

 ***Luna's vision***

 **I only got flashes & images, but what I saw chilled me to the bone.**

 **I saw the man with the patchwork jacket screaming in agony & laying on the ground, a wooden stake stabbed into his heart. Everything was so blurry that I couldn't see his face, but that jacket is hard to miss.**

 **I heard other voices screaming in fright, accompanied by the most god-awful sound I'd ever heard, like a pack of demons screaming in despair.**

 **"YOU'RE DEAD MEAT!"**

 ***End of vision, Luna's POV***

I snapped out of it & turned to see Rambo jr. Holding onto my arm.

"Are you one of _them_?!"

"The fuck are you talking about?!"

"The bloodsuckers, you sure as hell _look_ like one!" He sneered before shoving a cross in my face.

"What the fuck! Are you high or something?!" Rose shoved the psycho kid away from me and I saw his brother - along with Sam - come running over to us.

"Alan, what's wrong?!"

"Nothing Edgar, just checking to make sure these chicks ain't vampires, I wouldn't be surprised if they were though! Just look at them!"

' _What the fuck are these kids on?! Vampires? Really?!'_

"Are you guys sniffing old newsprint or something?! They aren't vampires! They've been helping me & my family unpack our stuff all day in the sun!"

Sam grabbed them & pulled them away before motioning for us to leave, we quickly ran out of the store and as far away from those psycho brothers as we could get.

I was still shaken up after the horrifying vision I'd experienced, combined with the strange encounter with the frog brothers (I'd caught that part of their conversation with Sam) still, I find this extremely strange, I haven't had a single vision since I was nine years old, and now I've suddenly had _two_ within three days!

' _I'm not high enough for this shit!'_

As if she'd heard my thoughts, Katie handed each of us a joint. "Figured you'd need one after the whole frog fiasco."

I thanked her before pulling a book of matches out of my pocket & lighting it up, I breathed in the thick smoke before performing a "French inhale" and letting the herb take effect.

I decided to just do a bit of "people watching" while the girls walked around and went over to a guard rail that lined the edge of the boardwalk, I jumped up to "perch" on it (some people call it "owling") and continued smoking while I observed the people around me.

I started getting that tugging feeling in my chest again before I heard a voice.

"Hey!"

I turned to see a kid who _definitely_ needed to lay off the junk food, he was holding a half-eaten candy bar & had chocolate all over his pudgy face.

"How are you doing that? You're weird!"

I raised an eyebrow at the kid & blew smoke rings at him, he gave me a nasty look and I just smirked.

"Didn't your mama ever tell you it's not nice to call people names?"

He stuck his nose in the air and crossed his arms.

"The frog brothers said that you're a vampire, I think it's true." He said in the most snooty & stuck-up voice I've ever heard.

' _What_ is _it with those kids and vampires?!'_

Since I was already pissed off at the events that'd been happening since we'd gotten here, I decided to be evil.

"And if it is? What're _you_ gonna do about it hmm?" I smirked & leaned a bit closer to him.

"You know, I hear that little kids taste the best, it's because of all that sugar & junk food, makes their blood taste _really_ sweet!"

I licked my lips for effect and almost busted out laughing when his eyes widened & he backed up a few steps. I was tired of dealing with the little brat, so I gave him an evil smile before hissing at him, he screamed before dropping his half-eaten candy bar & running off into the crowd.

I heard laughter and turned to see four familiar faces giving me amused smiles, the leader raised an eyebrow at me and I shrugged before standing up, jumping off the railing & walking off into the crowd.


	9. Laddie And The Lost Boys

***Luna's POV***

I decided that I'd smoked enough for the time being, I had about half-a-joint left & put it out on the side of my boot before sticking it behind my ear.

I paused when I heard someone crying and turned to find the little boy that was with the four bikers last night sitting on a bench & sniffling quietly to himself. I walked over to him and gently placed my hand on his shoulder.

"Hey, are you ok sweetie?"

He looked at me in surprise before shaking his head. "I can't find Star, she left me at the concert even though she's supposed to stay with me, and now I can't find her anywhere!"

I saw red, Star must be that girl that was with them last night. I don't care what anyone says, you do _not_ leave a little kid by themselves, especially at night!

"Well, you can walk around with me if you want. What's your name?"

"L-laddie." He said between sniffles.

"My name's Luna, it's nice to meet you Laddie!" He smiled (which was absolutely adorable) and I held my hand out to him, which he gladly took.

"Now, I don't know about you, but I'm in a milkshake kind of mood. How 'bout you?"

His smile got even bigger & he nodded enthusiastically, I smiled back and we walked over to a small ice-cream stand. We both ordered chocolate milkshakes & walked around for a little bit before running into the girls.

"Hey Luna! Who's this little man?" Laddie hid behind me as Katie smiled at him.

"This is Laddie. Laddie, these are my friends; Katie, Amber, and Rose."

He shyly waved at them & they smiled before waving back.

"So how'd you two meet?"

"Star left me alone at the concert. I tried finding her, but I got lost." I saw the girls tense up when he answered, and I knew that they all wanted to rip the bitch apart as much as I did.

"Well, is there anyone else you can go to?"

"Yeah, my older brothers."

He must mean the bikers from earlier, well this outta be interesting.

After Laddie described his brothers to us, we walked around in search of them. I paused when I felt that strange tugging feeling in my chest again.

' _Hmmm, I wonder...'_

I turned until I felt it getting stronger and began following it. Sure enough, we eventually broke through the crowd and I saw them standing around their bikes. It looked like they were searching the crowd for something, so I got Laddie's attention & pointed in their direction, his eyes lit up & he started to run over to them while still holding onto my hand.

"Dwayne!"

I saw the dark-haired one turn first before all four of them quickly turned in our direction.

" _There_ you are little man!" The one that looked like twisted sister sighed in relief before Laddie finally let go of my hand to jump into the dark-haired man's arms.

"So Laddie, who're your friends?" The platinum blonde asked with a smirk.

"I'm Luna, this is Katie, Amber, and Rose." I said & smirked when I saw Katie & twisted sister eyeing each other up.

"I'm David, you've already met Laddie, that's Paul, Marko, and Dwayne." He said while pointing to twisted sister, the one with the patchwork jacket, and finally the Native American.

When I locked eyes with him, that tugging feeling got so strong that I felt like my heart was going to burst out of my chest.

' _So_ he's _the cause of it, but why?'_

"Nice jacket, did you make that?"

I snapped out of it when I heard Amber conversing with Marko.

' _I KNEW she'd mention the jacket!'_ I thought with an amused smile and saw Marko grin before tuning out the rest of their conversation when I saw Katie playfully looking Paul over. Apparently she liked what she saw, and judging by the look Paul was giving her, the feeling was mutual.

"Hey."

I jumped slightly & turned to find Dwayne standing beside me.

"Hey yourself."

I smiled slightly & saw him smirk. (try saying that 3 times fast -_-")

"So, Luna right?"

"Yeah."

"I guess I should thank you for looking after Laddie."

I nodded. "No problem, but you'd better tell the bitch that was supposed to watch him that if she abandons him again, I'll fucking kill her." I said while giving him a serious look, he nodded & chuckled slightly.

"Trust me, she's in _big_ trouble when she gets back!"

He gave me an amused smile and luckily David cut in to change the subject.

"So, where're you girls from?"

"We moved here from Boston, but we're originally from New York." Rose answered for me.

"So are you sisters? Friends?"

"We're friends, but we might as well be sisters considering how long we've known each other."

I smiled at Rose's answer & saw David raise an eyebrow. "Really?"

"Yeah, Luna & I have known each other since we were fourteen, but we didn't meet Katie & Amber till we were seventeen, they've known each other since they were seven." Rose explained and I tuned out the rest of their conversation when Dwayne cleared his throat to get my attention.

"So, are you Native American?"

I smiled & nodded at him.

"What tribe?"

"I'm half Cherokee & half French."

He smiled & I felt my face heat up slightly (thank god I already have reddish skin, so it's not that noticeable)

"I'm full-blooded Cherokee, we're practically related."

"Thought you looked familiar." I teased & heard him laugh slightly. I can't remember the last time I met one of my own, it was kinda surreal to me. I decided to see if he spoke the language.

 **(AN: my Cherokee isn't very good, so I'm using a cheat-sheet ;3 if you know Cherokee & spot any mistakes, feel free to let me know) **

_"Otahitsu iginvtli?"_

 **(How are you my brother?)**

He looked at me in complete shock before smiling at me.

 _"Ostu, Nina, igido?"_

 **(Good, and you, my sister?)**

I wanted to cry, I hadn't been able to use my native language in so long that I'm surprised I even remembered how to speak it! I suppressed the urge however & felt a smile split my face.

 _"Ayv asvnasdi alihelisdi."_

 **(I feel happy.)**

 _"Ayv asvnasdi utloyi."_

 **(I feel the same.)**

"Hey Luna, as much as I hate to say it, it's getting late."

I reluctantly looked away from him to realize that Rose was right, there wasn't that many people left and the boardwalk was starting to close.

"You girls need a ride?"

I looked over at David. "What about Laddie? There's not enough room, besides, our motel isn't too far from here, so we can walk."

"Laddie!"

We all turned to see the girl, Star, walking over to us, I wanted to punch her, but stopped when I felt a firm hand on my shoulder and turned to see Dwayne shaking his head at me, I sighed before relaxing in his grip.

"Where the _hell_ have you been Star? You left Laddie by himself!" David sounded _pissed_ , I smirked when Star flinched and hung her head in shame.

"Do you think you can watch Laddie for five minutes while we give these ladies a ride home? Or is that too much to ask?"

I opened my mouth to protest, but Laddie walked over to Star before I could say anything & before I knew it, I was on the back of Dwayne's bike and we were being driven to our motel.

Like David said, it took about five minutes for us to get there and I got off the bike before turning to Dwayne.

 _"Wado."_

 **(Thank you.)**

 _"Gvlieliga."_

 **(Your welcome.)**

I smiled at him.

 _"Svnoyi ostu Dwayne."_

 **(Good night Dwayne.)**

 _"Uganasdv asgitsa uwoduhi."_

 **(Sweet dreams beautiful.)**

I felt my face heat up at his words and saw him smile before him & the boys drove off into the night, that tugging feeling came back, but it was slightly painful this time. I shrugged it off before walking into our motel room.

"So Luna, you and Mr. Tall-dark-and-native seemed to hit it off pretty quick huh?"

I shot Katie a playful glare. "What about _you_?! You couldn't keep your eyes off twisted sister the whole time!"

Her face turned bright red & I smirked before getting ready for bed, as I drifted off to sleep, I smiled at the thought of seeing Dwayne again.

Maybe coming to Santa Carla was a good idea after all.


	10. Bonds?

***Third person POV***

After dropping the girls off at their motel, the boys made their way back to the boardwalk.

 _David, those girls-_

 _I know, I felt the pack bond too Dwayne, though with Rose it was something stronger..._

They spoke to each other through their pack bond so they wouldn't have to shout over the motorcycle engines.

 _I felt the same thing with Luna, do you think it's the mate bond?_

 _Maybe, we should talk to Max later on, see if he can give us some answers._

Nothing more was said as they parked their bikes and waited for the halflings to return.

 ***Elsewhere, third person POV***

Michael had been following the girl ever since he'd seen her at the concert.

Sam had followed him at first, but eventually decided to go into a comic book store he'd spotted on the boardwalk.

For a few minutes he'd lost the girl in the crowd, but eventually saw her walking around with a little kid, she was _obviously_ too young to be his mom, so he figured it was her little brother.

He continued to follow her, but stopped when he saw her walk over to a group of bikers before getting on behind a guy with a platinum blonde mullet & ice blue eyes that seemed to look straight through you, he figured that he was the leader of the 'pack'.

The blonde turned to stare at Michael before smirking & driving off into the night.

"C'mon, she stiffed ya!" Sam laughed before lightly punching Michael in the arm.

He hadn't even noticed him walk up behind him.

Feeling defeated, Michael reluctantly turned to follow his younger brother back to the truck where their mom would probably be waiting by now.

 **AN: Sorry it's so short, but I promise the next one will be longer :)**


	11. Painful Memories

**AN: this chapter shows a bit of Luna's past, and I admit it, I cried my eyes out while writing this chapter ;(**

* * *

 ***Flashback***

"Nénáasėstse ayashe."

 **(Come here little one. {Cheyenne})**

"Shi'choo!"

 **(Grandfather! {Cheyenne})**

 _A five-year-old Luna ran over to the old Cheyenne elder & jumped into his arms, her father was smiling as he walked behind her at a normal pace._

 _"It's been awhile White Crow, what brings you here?"_

 _The old man gave him a serious look._

 _"We need to talk Gray Wolf." He said before turning to the little girl in his arms._

"Tåhéevo'soo'ėstse, ayashe."

 **(Go play, little one. {Cheyenne})**

 _Luna nodded as the old man set her down to go off into the backyard, once she was out of earshot, White Crow gave his friend a grim look._

 _"I know that you got the test results back, what did they say?"_

 _Gray Wolf became downcast & sighed._

 _"Chronic Myelogenous Leukemia."_

"Oh Ma'heo'o!"

 **(Oh god! {Cheyenne})**

 _Gray Wolf nodded solemnly as White Crow turned to watch the five year old girl playing on an old swing-set, completely unaware of the horror that she was about to face._

 _"How am I going to explain this to her? I can't afford the treatments, and I don't know how fast it's going to progress."_

 _Gray Wolf had tears in his eyes as he watched his daughter playing on the swings._

* * *

 ***Two years later***

 _"LUNA!_ Sge ahani, ha! _"_

 **(LUNA! Come here, now! {Cherokee})**

 _'Uh-oh, he used "sge" instead of "galutsv", great.'_

 **(AN: galutsv is the normal way to say 'come' in cherokee, sge is the word you use when you're angry)**

 _A seven year old Luna thought as she crossed her arms and sighed before angrily stomping over to stand in front of her father._

"Vv edoda?"

 **(Yes daddy?)**

 _Gray Wolf raised an eyebrow at his daughter before crossing his arms._

 _"Care to explain why I got a call from your teacher saying that you beat up four boys? And don't even_ try _to deny it, your bruises don't lie!" He cut her off when she opened her mouth to protest before gesturing to her bruised/bloody knuckles & black eye._

 _"They called me names & hit me first! That's how I got the black eye, other than that they didn't land a single hit!" Luna stated with pride, and although he _was _proud of his daughter for standing up for herself, Gray Wolf shook his head & sighed._

 _"I get that they hit you first, but I know you Luna, you usually walk away & ignore them, even when they hit you. You wouldn't hit back unless provoked, what did they say?"_

 _Luna's face became extremely angry and she suddenly found the floor very interesting._

 _"Luna, what did they say?"_

 _She stayed silent, but eventually mumbled._

 _"Speak up Luna, I can't hear you."_

 _"They said my mom left because she didn't want me, called me an ignorant savage, and even started dancing around me while making that stupid wah-wah noise! Which made them look completely ridiculous by the way! I told them so and that's why they hit me."_

 **(AN: if you don't know, the noise she's referring to is the one you make when you use your hand to warble your speech)**

 _Gray Wolf sighed. "Luna, normally I wouldn't say anything, but this is the fifth time this week that you've gotten in trouble for fighting! This needs to stop."_

 _"What am I supposed to do? Let them hit me?!"_

 _"No, but you need to tell the teachers when-"_

 _"I HAVE! THEY DON'T CARE! THEY JUST TELL ME TO SUCK IT UP & DEAL WITH IT AND NEVER DO A DAMN THING!"_

 _"Don't raise your voice to me Luna." Gray Wolf gently scolded his now-crying daughter._

 _"_ Edoda _, why did_ etsi _really leave me?"_

 **(Edoda=dad, Etsi=mom)**

 _Gray Wolf was shocked at his daughter's sudden question, he sighed before looking her in the eye._

 _"I don't know_ usdiga _."_

 **(Baby)**

 _He did know the reason, but also knew that his daughter was still too young to understand. He paused when Luna suddenly got a scared look on her face._

 _"Daddy, your nose is bleeding!"_

 **(AN: Sudden nosebleeds are a symptom of leukemia)**

* * *

 ***Two years later***

 _A nine year old Luna slowly walked into her father's room, a river of tears streaming down her face._

"Edoda?"

 _Her father slowly sat up in bed to look at his daughter._

 _"Luna? Why are you crying baby?"_

 _She stayed silent as she walked over to his bedside._

 _"I had a vision. I was in the hospital with you, you were so pale that you almost looked like an_ asgina _! A-and then, I was at your funeral, and this scary-looking old woman was trying to take me away!"_

 **(Asgina = Ghost)**

 _Luna broke down and sobbed loudly while burying her face into her father's chest. Gray Wolf knew that his daughter had the gift of visions, but he'd hoped that she wouldn't have to see his death until the time came._

 _It seems that the great spirit thought otherwise._

 _"Luna,_ usdiga _,_ sgiyatvdasda _."_

 **(Luna, baby, listen to me.)**

 _Luna looked up at her father, fat tears still rolling down her face. Gray Wolf had tears in his eyes as he tried his hardest to explain everything over the next hour-and-a-half, from his illness to why her mother left her on his doorstep._

 _By the time he was finished, he had a river of tears to match his daughter's and they cried in each other's arms for the rest of the night._

* * *

 ***One year later***

 _Everything had gone downhill after that night, and Luna could only watch as the illness slowly took over her father's body._

 _The fevers, the night sweats, the nosebleeds, the infections, the weight loss, Luna was there through it all._

 _But this time, she didn't think she could handle it._

 _As she'd seen in her vision, she was standing at her father's bedside as he lay dying in the hospital, if she hadn't been there to see it all, she wouldn't even recognize him._

 _He'd lost so much weight that Luna was afraid he'd snap in two if she hugged him, and a few months ago, he'd lost his beautiful black hair that Luna had proudly inherited from him (her mother was blonde, according to him)_

 _He was so pale that he almost looked like a ghost, and was in so much pain that he could barely move._

 _Luna gently grabbed his hand & interlocked her tiny fingers with his giant (to her at least) ones, Gray Wolf turned to his daughter with pleading eyes._

 _"Luna,_ usdiga _,_ sgiyatvdasda _."_

 **(Luna, baby, listen to me.)**

 _He barely managed to speak above a whisper, Luna couldn't find her voice, so she nodded for him to go on._

 _"I don't have much time left, but I_ need _you to know that no matter what life throws at you, no matter how painful & tiring it gets sometimes, the great spirit put you on this earth for a reason. Promise me that you'll keep holding on, if for no other reason than to find out what that is."_

"...ayv atuyasdodi."

 **(I promise.)**

 _Luna choked out between sobs & felt her father gently squeeze her hand._

 _"Daddy, how do you say goodbye in cherokee? You never taught me that word."_

 _Gray Wolf smiled. "That's because there is no word for goodbye in cherokee, it's too final."_

 _Luna looked at him in confusion. "Then what_ do _you say?"_

 _"There are actually_ two _things you can say;_ Stiyu _, and_ Donadagohv i."

 _Luna gave him a curious look. "What do they mean? If not goodbye, then what?"_

 _Gray Wolf laughed slightly._

 _"_ Stiyu _means 'be strong', it's how we usually say it, but_ Donadagohv i _means 'until we meet again'."_

 _"I like the second one better." Luna managed to smile through her tears when she heard her father chuckle._

 _"Me too."_

 _His breathing became slower, as did the beeping of the heart monitor next to the bed._

"Gvgeyuhi usdiga."

 **(I love you baby.)**

"G-gvgeyuhi edoda." _Luna managed to choke out between sobs._

"Donadagohv i."

 _Gray Wolf managed to say with his final breath as his eyes slowly closed for the last time._

* * *

 ***Three days later***

 _It had all come true._

 _Luna silently watched as they lowered her father's coffin into the ground, she didn't cry, for she had no more tears to shed._

 _"Alright, lets go!" The nasty old hag they'd sent from child services roughly grabbed her by the arm and started dragging her towards a black car._

 _They hadn't even finished burying him yet and she was already being manhandled!_

 _Luna struggled against the old woman's bony grip, she'd heard about how a lot of kids were treated at orphanages, and there was no way in_ HELL _she was gonna let herself be put through that!_

 _She reached out & kicked as hard as she could, hitting the old hag in the shin and causing her to let go in favor of clutching her leg. _

_As soon as she was free, Luna quickly took off through the woods surrounding the cemetery, she heard people calling after her, but she'd grown up in these woods her entire life, they had no chance in hell of catching her._

* * *

 ***Present day***

Luna gasped & shot up from the bed, she was still breathing heavily and felt the tear tracks on her face.

'Ma'heo'o _!_ _Why?! Why after all this time am I being forced to relive those painful memories?!'_

She sniffled and quickly got up to walk into the bathroom. Turning on the light, she closed & locked the door before bending over the sink to splash cold water on her face.

She dried her face off with one of the cheap itchy towels that the motel provided, and felt her heart stop when she looked at her reflection in the mirror.

Her nose was bleeding.


	12. Morning Mayhem

**AN: I'd love to hear from all of you, so please feel free to comment & tell me what you think! **❤️

* * *

 ***Third person POV***

It was a beautiful morning in Santa Carla California and the girls had decided to go visit the Emerson family, Lucy was delightfully surprised when she answered the door and quickly invited them in to join her for coffee.

The three men of the house were still asleep, so the five women were enjoying some "girl talk".

"I know that look. _Somebody's_ got a crush!"

Lucy tried to hide a smile by taking a sip of her coffee, causing the girls to gasp before quickly surrounding her.

"I _NEED_ details!"

Katie was bouncing in her seat like a five year old on a sugar rush, Lucy's face turned as red as her hair and she giggled at Katie's behavior before setting her mug down.

"...His name is Max, he owns the video store that I work at-"

"Ooooo, business _and_ pleasure? _Scandalous_!" Katie teased and Lucy sputtered before turning even redder (if that was even possible) as the girls giggled.

"Ok ok, stop teasing the poor woman and let her talk! So, what does he look like?" Luna said without anger before propping her face on her hands. Lucy managed to calm down before letting a dreamy smile split her face.

"Well, he's tall, has brown hair, blue eyes, and he wears glasses."

"Ah, so he's the nerdy type?"

Luna reached over to lightly smack Katie upside the head.

" _Ouch_! What'd I do?!"

Everyone (minus Lucy) rolled their eyes and Rose motioned for Lucy to continue.

" _I_ think he's very handsome, and he was kind enough to offer me the job right off the bat. He's been nothing but a gentlemen, much better than my jerk of an ex husband I'll tell you that much!" Lucy explained before deadpanning.

"Amen sister!" Amber laughed along with the others as Lucy broke into an amused smile.

"Lucy! What's with all the racket?" John Emerson yawned as he walked into the living room.

"Oh I'm sorry dad, did we wake you up?"

"No no, I just didn't know that you had friends over. Nice to see you girls again."

"Nice to see you too ya old fart." Luna teased and he just pointed his finger at her with a playful glare, causing the girls to giggle as he walked into the kitchen to grab a cup of coffee.

 ***Time skip, third person POV***

Lucy's sons had woken up about fifteen minutes after their grandfather and Sam apologized for the incident with the frog brothers - to which they told him not to since it wasn't his fault - while Michael had left to go job hunting, so the girls decided to hang out around the Emerson house.

Amber was running around with Nanook, and within a span of five minutes she had somehow gotten the horses to trust her so much that they would follow her around. When she sat down in the pasture to rest, one of the stallions had actually laid down beside her and placed its huge head in her lap while she stroked his mane.

Katie thought she'd died and gone to heaven when John Emerson had opened his garage to show her & Sam his prized possession;

 _A light blue, mint-condition 1957 Ford Fairlane convertible 500 skyliner._

After laughing at the old man about how much of a hermit he was when he refused to go into town, she was pleasantly surprised when he'd pulled out a joint & offered for her to smoke it with him, then pulled out another (slightly bigger) joint and told her to save it so that she could smoke it with her friends later on.

Rose was helping Lucy by washing the dishes as she cleaned up the after-breakfast mess that the boys had left (Luna had made the girls clean up after themselves by threatening to shave their heads while they slept if they didn't)

Luna however, she was in the bathroom.

 ***Luna's POV***

 _"Dammit!"_

My nose was bleeding again, it had been doing so for the past three minutes and was _finally_ starting to die down to only a few drops every now & then. I lightly blew my nose again & sighed in relief when I didn't see blood, I stepped back from the mirror a bit and stared hard at my reflection.

How had I not noticed it before?

I had always felt some slight bone pains and had woken up sweating my ass off in the middle of the night before, but since I never got the fevers, red spots & severe infections like my _edoda_ , I never gave it much thought.

But _this_ I couldn't ignore.

My jeans were starting to feel loose on me, and my ribs were just _barely_ starting to show through my skin, I walked over to the little scale that was in the corner of the room & took my boots off before standing on it.

My heart dropped into my stomach when I saw the numbers.

I had lost three pounds in a single night.


	13. Going For A Ride

***Third person POV***

It was mid-day in Santa Carla and Lucy had taken Sam & the girls to the boardwalk.

It was _WAY_ different during the daytime. Sure, a few of the usual freaks, geeks & weirdos could still be seen roaming around, but the majority of the crowd consisted of families & kids. The girls had wandered around for a bit before Luna spotted Michael picking trash on the beach.

"Hey Michael!"

Michael was surprised to see them walking towards him, he looked kind of embarrassed.

"Hey girls, what're ya doin' here?"

"Your mom brought us here along with your dork of a brother, he ran for the comic book shop as soon as we got here."

Michael shook his head before putting a few beer cans in his trash bag.

"So, cleaning up the beach huh?"

"Yeah, it was the only job I could find." He blushed slightly before hanging his head.

"Hey, at least you _found_ a job! We don't judge!" Michael smiled slightly at Amber's words.

"Ugh, I don't know _how_ you can stand this heat though! I'd take the nighttime over _this_ any day!" Katie groaned, causing Michael to smirk.

"You know, you should get out in the sun more often, you're too pale."

"Nah, hot sun not fun."

Michael laughed & shook his head at Katie's response and the girls said their goodbyes while he continued cleaning up the beach.

 ***Time skip, Rose's POV***

It was a little past sunset now, we'd been hanging out at the boardwalk all day (and had avoided the frog brothers like the plague)

Luna has been acting strange lately, I'd asked her if she was alright after she shot up in bed the other night, and I _knew_ she was lying when she told me she was.

I've been watching her like a hawk ever since, and I've noticed that she's lost weight because her ribs are beginning to show.

She'd told me about her dad & what had happened to him, and now that she's acting like this...

"Hey girls, I'm gonna go wander for a bit."

"Ok, just be careful Amber." She nodded before disappearing into the crowd.

 ***Luna's POV***

It was about ten minutes later when Rose spotted Michael looking at leather jackets.

' _Interesting.'_

"Hey Michael!"

He jumped slightly before smiling at us. "Hey! Where's Amber?"

"She went off on her own for a while. So...looking for some leather huh?" He blushed slightly before nodding.

"Well then _stop_ what you're doing. Put that one back, trust me, it'd look stupid on you."

He looked at me in confusion before putting the one that he was holding back on the rack. I walked over and turned him to face me as I started pulling out jacket after jacket.

"No...no...no... _definitely_ not!...no... _EW_!...AHA!" I finally found one that would look decent on him & he tried it on.

"Oh yeah, that's the one!"

The woman that ran the shop agreed with my choice and Michael paid for it before thanking me & disappearing into the crowd.

It wasn't too long after that that I started getting that tugging feeling again.

I looked around before spotting Dwayne & the boys standing around their bikes and smiled before pointing them out to the girls, Katie got a huge smile on her face before running towards them.

 _"Paul!"_ His head whipped around before he spotted her, he smiled and let out a yell before picking her up and swinging her around in a circle.

' _Awww, how cute!'_

David & the boys chuckled at Paul's antics as Rose and I calmly walked over to them.

"Luna!" I was suddenly tackled by an excited Laddie & picked him up to hug him while swinging him around, causing him to giggle.

"Hey little man, I missed you!" He smiled at me & I heard Dwayne chuckle.

 _"Siyo uwoduhi."_

 **(Hello beautiful.)**

I smiled & couldn't help but blush.

 _"Siyo."_

"Why're you guys talking like that?" Laddie said with pure curiosity. Dwayne & I just smiled before turning to him.

"You know how I'm Native American?" Laddie nodded at his 'older brother'.

"Well so is Luna, and in our native language, that's how we say hello."

Laddie looked at us completely awestruck & I smiled before setting him down.

"Can you teach me sometime?"

"Of course little man!" He smiled before giving me another hug.

"Hey, where's Amber?" Marko was looking around for her and I couldn't help but raise an eyebrow.

"She went off on her own for awhile."

Marko looked disappointed when I told him that.

' _Aw, someone's got a crush!'_

"Heads up boys." David said and we all turned to see what he was looking at, I growled when I saw Star, but was surprised when I saw Michael walking alongside her.

"What'd ya say girls? You wanna ride with us?"

I looked at David in confusion. "What about Amber? We can't just-"

"Marko can come back for her."

I hesitated, but then I saw the pleading looks on Laddie, Rose and Katie's faces.

"...Alright." I sighed and the girls smiled before David had Rose get on the back of his bike and Katie got on the back of Paul's bike. I paused when I saw Laddie get on behind Marko and looked up to find Dwayne smirking at me.

' _Well shit.'_

I blushed before walking over to get on the bike. "Just so you know, if you crash and we die, I'll kill you."

Dwayne just laughed at me. "I'll keep that in mind."

I smiled before I turned to see Michael talking to Star, they were about to get on his bike when the boys quickly surrounded them.

"Where ya goin' Star?"

"For a ride. This is Michael."

David looked unimpressed and I saw Star giving Rose a dirty look, I lightly cleared my throat & gave her a murderous glare when she turned to me. She gave me an uneasy/nervous look before turning back to Michael.

"You know where Hudson's Bluff is overlooking the point?"

Michael scoffed lightly. "I can't beat your bike."

"You don't have to beat me Michael. You just have to try & keep up. Besides, Star needs the ride since our bikes are full."

Michael finally noticed us and gave us confused looks, but shrugged it off as Star got on behind him. David revved his engine before we drove off.

Us girls being daredevils, we were up for anything they could dish out.

And they didn't disappoint.

They drove down the stairs that led to the beach and I was having the time of my life as we went flying over the sand. I laughed when I heard the boys yelling and let out a howl, to which the girls responded & the boys laughed before joining in.

These guys were _nuts_!

They drove around the many bonfires that lit up the beach & I laughed when I saw people scrambling to get out of the way.

I leaned my head into Dwayne's shoulder blades as they drove underneath a bunch of beams and jumped a small dirt pile before driving into the woods and expertly navigating through the trees.

I turned around to see Michael & Star not too far behind us, they eventually passed everyone before managing to pull up beside David & Rose.

"Now we _race_!"


	14. Welcome To Paradise

***Rose's POV***

Michael & Star managed to pull up alongside us as we drove through the dense fog. I could just _barely_ make out the edge of the cliff as we got closer.

 _"C'mon!"_ David egged Michael on as the edge of Hudson's Bluff finally came into view through the fog. I was slightly afraid, but for some reason, I trusted David, and I somehow knew that he wouldn't let anything happen to us. I leaned into him and tightened my grip around his waist as we got closer to the edge of the cliff.

"C'mon Michael!"

Michael began looking between us & the cliff, I could tell he was getting scared, and eventually he pulled back & ended up falling on his side before skidding to the very edge of the cliff.

David slowed down and managed to stop at the very tip of Hudson's Bluff. I looked down & could just _barely_ see the crashing waves through the dense fog.

' _Yikes.'_

David backed the bike up a little and I saw Michael make sure that Star was ok before running towards us.

 _"WHAT THE HELL YA DOIN' HUH?!"_ He yelled before punching David square in the jaw. I quickly leapt off the bike & shoved him backwards as the rest of the boys ran over to try & hold him back.

"JUST YOU! _JUST_ YOU!" Michael yelled while pointing at David, I walked over to check on him and was shocked when I saw that he wasn't hurt, there wasn't even a bruise to show he'd been hit!

' _Just how tough_ is _this guy?!'_

David smirked as he turned to face him. "How far are you willing to go Michael?"

* * *

 ***Third person POV***

Dwayne walked into the cave with a torch & lit up a few metal barrels that were scattered around, followed by Paul & Laddie. They were holding hands & jumping around as they entered the cave.

"Hit the rock box bud!"

"Yeah!"

Paul jumped up onto an old fountain in the middle of the room & Laddie ran over to grab the 'rock box' as the others walked in. Luna whistled when she saw the inside, causing David to smirk.

"Not bad huh? This used to be the hottest resort in Santa Carla about eighty-five years ago, too bad they built it on the fault. So in 1906, when the big one hit San Francisco, the ground opened up, and this place took a header-"

He paused and clapped his hands for effect.

"Right into the crack. So now it's ours." He said with a smile.

"So check it out. _Mikey_." Paul teased as he lit up a joint, causing the others to laugh.

"Marko, food, and bring Amber back with you." Marko smiled and nodded before releasing the bird that he'd been holding and disappearing through the cave entrance.

"That's what I love about this place, you ask, and then you get. Thank you." He said as Paul handed him a joint.

"Appetizer?" Michael hesitated before taking it.

"You'll like it here Michael."

David walked over to an old wheelchair and sat down before pulling Rose into his lap, causing her to blush while Star glared at her.

One look from Luna put a stop to that.

 ***Luna's POV***

' _Fucking bitch!'_

I saw the way that Star was glaring at Rose, and she had _no_ right to do so since she was flirting with Michael not too long ago!

"What's wrong?"

I jumped when I heard Dwayne whisper in my ear.

"Nothing, just debating wether or not I need to cut a bitch."

He chuckled and grabbed my hand before leading me over to an old couch, I blushed when he pulled me into his lap.

"Don't worry about it _usdiga_." I paused when he called me that and turned to him before smiling slightly.

"My _edoda_ used to call me that."

 **(Dad)**

His eyes softened and he opened his mouth to speak, but was cut off by Michael.

"So, where're you guys from?"

"Right here!" I laughed slightly at Paul's response and saw David smirk.

"I mean where do you live?"

"Right here." Dwayne answered with a smile.

"You _live_ here?! Your folks let you?!"

The boys gave him strange looks.

"Is he talkin' parents?" Paul jokingly asked.

"What are they?" Dwayne laughed, I rolled my eyes at their antics while Michael looked completely confused.

"We do what we want Michael, we have complete freedom. Nobody knows about this place...And nobody knows about us."

Michael and the girls looked intrigued, and I admit that I was too.

David smiled at our expressions. "Freedom Michael. No parents. No rules."

He turned Rose to look him in the eye. "Hell, we're as free as birds."

"Lucky bastards!" The boys laughed at Katie's response before Rose turned to look at me with an unreadable expression and discreetly pointed to her nose.

I reached up and touched my nose before pulling my hand away.

' _Fuck!'_

I calmly stood up & told the boys that I was stepping out for a minute, they didn't protest and I walked as quickly as I could without looking suspicious up the 'steps' and out of the cave.


	15. The Truth

***Third person POV***

Something was wrong.

He'd smelled the blood, they all had. Dwayne stared after Luna as she calmly (but quickly) walked out of the cave.

 _Dwayne, go after her. I'll distract the others._

David ordered through their bond and motioned for him to go.

He didn't need to be told twice.

He nodded & David started talking to the others, making sure that they didn't see Dwayne as he headed out after Luna.

 ***Rose's POV***

David thinks he's slick, but he couldn't fool me.

I watched Dwayne out of the corner of my eye as he stood up & walked out. I didn't say anything though, obviously he knew something was wrong with Luna and was going to check on her.

' _Cute.'_

I smiled slightly and turned to listen as David continued speaking with Michael.

 ***Katie's POV***

I wonder why Luna walked out like that, the girls seem to think that because I'm a total stoner I don't pay attention to my surroundings.

Actually, it's the total opposite.

I've noticed Luna's strange behavior lately, and I've noticed the weight loss too. I know that we don't exactly live _ideal_ lives and sometimes we don't get to eat much, but we never _starve_. Luna may not be 'built', but she wasn't _that_ skinny, at least she wasn't three days ago.

' _I wonder if...no...no no no NOPE! I am_ NOT _going there!'_

I quickly shook the grim thought from my head and was thankful when Paul spoke up.

"So, you smoke?"

"Not cigarettes, no." I smiled as he put a hand to his chest.

"A girl after my own heart!"

I laughed as he produced another joint from his pocket.

"Jesus boy! How many of those things do you have?! I swear you just pull them out of thin air or something!"

He threw his head back & laughed before handing it to me. "Maybe I do, maybe I don't, that's for me to know & you to never find out."

I pouted at him and he smiled before pulling out a lighter.

' _Oh_ hell _no!'_

"What're you doing?"

He gave me a confused look.

"You _never_ use a lighter!" I shook my head before pulling out a book of matches.

"Use a wooden match, preserves the flavor." I handed him the joint & lit a match, he stuck the joint in his mouth and I held up the match while he got it going. I saw his eyes widen as he breathed in the thick smoke & he pulled the joint out before looking at it in amazement.

"See? What'd I tell ya?"

 _"Holy shit!"_ He looked at me with a smile before lightly blowing the smoke in my face.

Wow! The smell alone was so strong that I'll probably get a contact high, and I'm a heavyweight!

"Ok, note to self: no more lighters. _Ever_."

I smirked and he laughed slightly before passing it to me.

* * *

 ***Luna's POV***

' _GOD DAMMIT!'_

I was using a napkin to try & stop my bleeding nose (I always carry a few around, never know when they'll come in handy)

It just _HAD_ to happen now, didn't it?! I swear, somewhere in the land of spirits, _Ma'heo'o_ is laughing at me!

This is getting ridiculous.

This is the fifth nosebleed I've had in three days! I remember when dad used to get them, and now I know how he felt.

' _I'm sorry for ever getting frustrated when this happened to you_ edoda.'

I felt tears welling up in my eyes and didn't try to stop them from falling, I gritted my teeth before wiping my nose again.

Still bleeding.

"Luna!" I froze. No, not him. Not now!

I turned my head away from Dwayne before pressing the napkin to my nose.

' _C'mon, stop bleeding dammit!'_

"Luna, _hasiyu_?"

 **(Are you ok?)**

I shook my head, but realized that he probably couldn't see me through the fog.

 _"Vv, ayv hawa."_

 **(Yes, I'm alright.)**

I heard him walk up behind me before placing a hand on my shoulder. "Don't lie to me Luna. Please, tell me what's wrong." He said without anger.

I shook slightly before wiping my nose and reluctantly turning towards him.

 ***Third person POV***

He could clearly smell the blood now, and when she turned towards him, he finally saw why. Luna was bleeding, but she hadn't been injured as far as he knew.

So why?

"Luna, what happened?! Why's your nose bleeding?!"

She sighed before continuing to try & stop the bleeding. "It's a long story, but I'll give you the short version."

He nodded for her to go on.

"When I was little, my _edoda_ got sick with leukemia, he couldn't afford the expensive treatments, so I had to watch him wither away for five years before he died."

She sighed. "One of his symptoms was sudden nosebleeds, I've had five in the past three days."

His eyes widened in shock before he pulled her into his arms.

No.

He was _NOT_ gonna let this happen!

He messaged his brother & told him everything, David almost fell out of his wheelchair in shock when he heard what was going on, but managed to keep his cool.

 _Ok, Don't worry Dwayne, as soon as Marko comes back, we'll get them_ _all_ _to drink from the bottle. She'll be fine brother, I promise._

Dwayne relaxed before trying to help her stop the bleeding.

He wasn't going to lose his mate, he'd lay himself out in the sun before he let that happen.


	16. One Of Us

***Amber's POV***

Where the _hell_ are the girls?!

I've been looking for them for almost half-an-hour, and still no sign of them!

I sighed & decided that if I didn't find them within the next twenty minutes, I'd just head back to the room. I walked around for a little bit before spotting a Chinese restaurant, and it was at that moment that my stomach decided to let out a (rather loud) growl.

' _The girls can wait, I'm fucking starving!'_

I walked into the slightly-rundown place and quickly sat down at one of the tables since I'd been walking around so much that my feet were killing me!

"Hey, Amber!" My head shot up and I smiled when I saw Marko walking over to me.

"Hey! What's up Marko?" I stood up and gave him a hug (which he returned in kind)

"Just getting takeout, the girls met up with us earlier along with some guy named Michael."

"Brown curly hair, blue eyes?"

"Yeah! You know him?" He seemed a bit shocked that I knew who he was talking about.

"Yeah, Michael Emerson. We met him & his family when their car broke down, he tried hitting on Luna, but she shot him down."

He threw his head back & laughed. " _Man_ I wish I could've seen that! Anyway, he was following Star around like a lovesick puppy, so when the girls agreed to ride with us, she rode with Michael since our bikes were full. They didn't want to leave you behind, but we had Laddie with us, so I agreed to come back for you."

I blushed when he said that and saw him get that Cheshire Cat grin on his face.

"Of course you don't _have_ to come if you don't want to-"

"NO!" I cleared my throat before speaking at a normal volume. "No, I-I'd love to. Besides, even though I get why they left me behind, I still gotta bitch 'em out for it!"

He laughed before putting an arm around my shoulder (which I just _know_ he did to make me blush again, fucking asshole!)

"Great, let me just get the food & we'll go, do you want anything?"

"Chicken & rice?"

He smiled before nodding & ordering the food. It took about fifteen minutes before our order was ready and he paid the lady before leading me out the door towards his bike.

I got on behind him and he turned to me with a mischievous smile.

"You might wanna hold on tight."

I narrowed my eyes at him and he revved the engine before the bike jerked forward, causing me to (of course) quickly hold him tightly so I wouldn't go flying off the back of the bike.

"You're gonna pay for that later asshole!" I spoke into his ear so he could hear me over the engine and heard him laugh.

"Promise?"

I rolled my eyes at his cheeky response, but I couldn't help the smile that split my face as we rode down the steps & over the sand.

I didn't know where exactly we were going, but at the moment, I couldn't care less. Marko was a little speed demon, and I _loved_ it!

He laughed & hollered as we weaved through the bonfires that lit up the beach, and I found myself joining in & loving every minute of our wild ride.

' _I could spend eternity like this.'_

 ***Third person POV***

He heard her thoughts and smiled as they jumped over the dirt mound that led to the woods, he could've sworn he felt his undead heart soar when he heard her laugh in delight.

If things went right, he'd spend eternity making sure that smile never left his mate's beautiful face.

* * *

 ***At the cave, Third person POV***

Luna had finally managed to stop the bleeding a little while ago and was now sitting in Dwayne's lap on the couch. She'd seen David give her an unreadable expression when she'd entered the cave, but shrugged it off in favor of making small talk with everyone.

"FEEDING TIME! Come and get it boys & girls!"

She smiled when Marko walked in with Amber not far behind, she looked around in amazement before sending Luna a look that clearly said 'I'm gonna kill you for leaving me bitch!', Luna chuckled & mouthed 'we'll talk about this later' to her, she nodded before walking over to sit by Katie.

"Chinese. Good choice." David said as Marko passed the food to everyone else (throwing a takeout box to Paul) and walked over to hand Amber a box of chicken & rice.

"Guests first." David tried handing a box to Michael, who politely declined.

"You don't like rice? Tell me Michael, how could a billion Chinese people be wrong?" He chuckled and Michael took the box before starting to eat.

 ***Luna's POV***

I had a hunch about what David was doing, but decided to wait & see.

"How're those maggots?" David asked a confused Michael and I narrowed my eyes as the boys laughed.

"Maggots Michael. You're eating maggots, how do they taste?"

I heard Paul laugh and watched as Michael looked down before dropping the box of what was _clearly_ rice & spitting it out as the others (minus Star) laughed at him.

' _So_ that's _it.'_

I'd seen this trick before, if you keep eye contact with someone and focus your energy on what you want them to see, you can 'hypnotize' them into hallucinating. I'd seen a few of the elders do it to kids that misbehaved (they'd even done it to me once or twice, give or take)

"Leave him alone!" Star complained and I saw David break his hold on Michael's mind by looking away.

Now Michael saw only rice.

"Sorry about that."

' _No you're not.'_

"No hard feelings huh?" Michael shook his head in confusion before smiling slightly. "No."

David held his box out to him before looking him in the eye. "Why don't you try some noodles?"

Michael looked away in disgust as the boys laughed. "They're worms."

" _They're worms_." David mocked him before feeding some of the noodles to Rose.

"Don't eat-" Michael stopped when he saw that there were no worms.

"They're only noodles Michael."

He grabbed the box from David's hand before looking at the food in confusion as the rest of us (minus Star) laughed.

"That's enough!"

"Ah, chill out girl!" Paul & Katie said at the same time, they looked at each other in shock before smiling & laughing.

' _Ok, they're gone.'_

I smiled & shook my head at the junkies before David whispered in Marko's ear, he smiled slightly & nodded before walking over to grab a very old-looking jeweled bottle and handing it to David.

I felt Dwayne lightly squeeze my hand and turned to see him watching David with an unreadable expression, he then turned to me with a reassuring smile as David took a sip from the bottle of (what I guessed) was wine.

He breathed deeply before opening his eyes. Something was different, the atmosphere seemed tense, heavy, and David's gaze was dark & serious.

"Drink some of this Michael. Be one of us."

' _What exactly does THAT mean?'_

Michael stood up & walked over to take the bottle from David. I got slightly nervous when the rest of the boys started chanting his name, encouraging him to drink.

"Don't! You don't have to Michael." Star tried to stop him. She seemed scared, and I was getting rather nervous myself.

 ***Rose's POV***

"It's blood!" I looked at her, looking for any trace of a lie, but was shocked and confused when I found she was completely serious.

Either it really WAS blood, or Star's an _extremely_ good liar!

Michael seemed to think that it was another trick.

"Yeah, sure. Blood." He said with a smirk as he brought the bottle to his lips & drank deeply from it.

"BRAVO!" David yelled while clapping and the boys hollered in delight. David then took the bottle from Michael before the girls were led over to us.

 ***Third person POV***

The rest of the lost boys led the girls over to stand around David & Rose.

"Your turn girls, drink. Be one of us." He beckoned them and they all looked at each other for a minute, they seemed to be having a silent conversation, and eventually they all turned to look at Luna.

"You're the leader Luna. What do you think? Should we do it?" Katie asked lightheartedly so they wouldn't think she was scared.

 ***Luna's POV***

' _She just HAD to ask me didn't she?!'_

I looked around at their questioning gazes and grabbed the bottle from David's outstretched hand.

For the third time since we arrived in Santa Carla, I had a vision. Only this time, it wasn't like any other I'd had before.

 ***Luna's vision***

 _ **"Luna,**_ **usdiga** _ **, don't be afraid."**_

 **(Baby)**

 _ **Everything was dark, there was nothing but pitch black surrounding me, but I'd know that voice anywhere.**_

 **"Edoda?"**

 _ **He appeared before my eyes and gave me a kind smile, my eyes widened when I saw him.**_

 _ **He was exactly how I remembered him, before he'd gotten sick.**_

 **"Sgiyatvdasda,** _ **I don't have much time, but you & your friends are in danger.**_ **"**

(Sgiyatvdasda = listen to me)

 _ **"What? Why?!"**_

 _ **"I can't tell you, but I will tell you that if you don't drink from the bottle, you'll all end up dead. If you do, you'll still be in danger, but I know that you'll find a way to overcome it."**_

 _ **To my horror, I heard those demonic blood-curdling screams again, and my father pulled me into his arms before he started to fade away.**_

 _ **"You've been running for too long Luna, no more. It's time you face life head on, you're my**_ **uwetsiageyv** _ **, you will get through this."**_

(Uwetsiageyv = daughter)

 **"Agatidisdi! Tlasgo adanvsdi ayv gila edoda! Tla yigoliga!"**

 _(Wait! Don't leave me yet dad! I don't understand!)_

 **"Nihi wili hawinaditlv iyuwakodi usdiga."**

 _(You will in time baby.)_

 _ **I heard the sounds of fighting, then a gunshot, and a bloodcurdling scream of pain.**_

 _ **"Drink from the bottle**_ **Nvdo** _ **, you & your sisters deserve happiness. **_**Gvgeyuhi usdiga, stiyu."**

(Nvdo = moon)

(I love you baby, be strong.)

 ***End of vision, Luna's POV***

I don't know what the hell just happened, but that was no ordinary vision!

My _edoda_ wouldn't use my true name unless he was being completely serious.

I steeled my resolve and nodded.

"Why not?" I shrugged before bringing the bottle to my lips, letting the - surprisingly sweet - liquid go down my throat (if you've ever sucked on a penny or a key, that's what it tasted like)

I passed the bottle to Katie, then Amber, then Rose. Rose seemed hesitant at first, but eventually they all drank from the bottle, the boys started cheering & I felt Dwayne pull me into his arms.

"Now you're one of us _usdi saquu_."

 **(Little one)**

I started feeling dizzy as Marko began pushing David and Rose around in the wheelchair while the others (minus Star, obviously) started jumping around and yelling in delight.

I smiled, because for some reason, I felt whole, like there was an emptiness inside me that had finally been fulfilled.

I let the effects take over and felt my mind slip into oblivion.


	17. Train Games

***Luna's POV***

I don't know how or when it happened, but when I came to, I was on the back of Dwayne's bike and we were parked at a railroad bridge. I watched David get off his bike along with a disoriented Rose, he steadied her before walking towards the bridge.

My head was (mostly) cleared now and I carefully got off the bike before feeling Dwayne put an arm around my waist.

"Perfect timing." I heard David say as I looked around to see Amber with Marko, Katie with Paul, and Michael walking along behind us.

"What's goin' on?" I heard Michael say in confusion while looking around.

"Michael wants to know what's going on." The rest of the boys laughed as David continued to speak.

"Marko. What's going on?"

"I dunno, what's going on Paul?"

"Wait a minute, who wants to know?"

"Michael wants to know!"

I rolled my eyes and shook my head at their antics, but smiled nonetheless.

Boys will be boys after all.

"I think we should let Michael know what's going on." David said while putting an arm around Michael's shoulders and I watched as Marko let go of Amber before walking over to the edge.

"Marko?"

Marko waved mischievously at us.

' _Tell me he's not going to-'_

"Goodnight Michael."

' _He is.'_

"BOMBS AWAY!" He yelled as he jumped off the edge of the bridge. I saw Michael freeze & heard Amber gasp slightly as David chuckled.

"Bottoms up man!" Paul snapped his fingers before letting out a yell & jumping over the edge.

I looked up at Dwayne and he gave me a reassuring look before walking over to the edge. He made 'finger guns' at us before he jumped.

David gathered all of us near the edge before looking each of us in the eye, starting with me & ending with Michael.

"Come join us." David beckoned before dropping out of sight. I walked over and dropped to my knees next to Michael to look over the edge, only to see all of them hanging from the metal poles underneath the tracks.

' _Are these guys crazy?!'_

 ***Third person POV***

The boys started calling out to the confused humans, encouraging them to join in on the 'game'.

"You guys are NUTS!" Luna yelled and the boys just laughed as she shook her head in exasperation. The girls looked at each other before shrugging and carefully climbing down to hang beside their respective lost boy, Michael tried to stop them, but they ignored him.

"Michael Emerson! Come on down!" David chuckled as Michael finally climbed down to join them.

"Welcome aboard boys & girls!" Paul laughed while Katie rolled her eyes.

"Fun huh?" David chuckled darkly before they heard the sound of a train quickly approaching.

 ***Luna's POV***

' _Ok, I may be a daredevil, but THIS is fucking insane!'_

I looked down to see nothing but fog below us, it was so thick that I couldn't tell how high up we were at all. I held onto the bar with a white-knuckle grip as the train started to pass over us.

"HOLD ON!" David yelled as we were suddenly blasted with heat & I coughed as I felt dust going into my lungs.

"JESUS CHRIST!" I faintly heard Michael yell over the sound of the train before I saw Paul leaning over to speak into Katie's ear, then to my complete horror, they let go, and I could only watch helplessly as my sister dropped out of sight.

"NO!" I heard myself scream and felt tears welling up in my eyes.

"It's ok Luna, trust me!" I heard Dwayne's voice, but it sounded like it was coming from _inside_ my head. For some reason, I did trust him. I don't know why, but I felt like I could trust him with my life.

I snapped back to reality when I heard Michael screaming.

"Don't be scared Michael!" Marko yelled before letting go and dropping out of sight.

' _Not funny Marko! NOT funny!'_

I looked Amber in the eye, she then gave me a strange look before letting go & disappearing beneath the dense fog.

I looked over at Dwayne, and he gave me a reassuring smile. "Trust me."

His lips didn't move, but I could've sworn I heard his voice in my head.

' _What the FUCK is going on here?!'_

I felt my heart stop when he let go and disappeared from my sight, but something told me not to be afraid, and that everything was gonna be alright.

"Michael, you're one of us! Let go!" I heard David yell over the noise.

"Are you NUTS?!" Michael yelled just as loud.

"You are one of us Michael!" David answered before looking at Rose, he smiled & winked at her before letting go of the bar.

"DAVID!" Michael & Rose screamed at the same time. She frantically turned to me and we stared at each other, having a silent conversation. We eventually nodded to each other before letting go at the same time.

I couldn't stop the scream that tore from my throat as I fell, but to my surprise, I felt myself stop in midair.

I was floating...

' _WHAT THE HELL?!'_

I looked around and could vaguely see shadows moving around me as I suddenly felt completely exhausted, letting my mind slip into unconsciousness as I continued to fall through the fog.

 ***Third person POV***

Paul & Marko dropped down to the bottom of the gorge, each holding their respective mates (who had passed out during the fall)

Paul quickly-but-carefully set Katie on the ground when David & Dwayne dropped down with their sleeping mates and David quickly passed Rose to him before taking off into the fog. He eventually dropped down with an unconscious Michael in his arms before setting him down on the ground and taking his mate into his arms once again.

"Ok, how the _hell_ are we gonna do this?!" Marko was referring to the fact that they now had _five_ unconscious halflings to deal with along with Michael's bike.

David thought it over for a minute before carefully setting Rose down & taking off his trench coat, he laid it on the ground before placing Michael on top of it & lifting Rose into his arms.

"We'll drop the girls off first, then come back for Michael." The 'brothers' nodded in agreement before taking off into the sky.


	18. Endurance Of The Heart

**AN: We've seen a bit of Luna's past, now it's time to get to know Rose. (Warning: this chapter contains mentions of child abuse & violence.)**

* * *

 ***Flashback***

 _"Stupid bitch!"_

 _A five year old Rose barely managed to avoid the broken beer bottle that her father had thrown at her as she tried to run for her room, but was suddenly grabbed by her mother, who slapped her across the face so hard that she fell to the hardwood floor. Pain exploded in her head as it bounced off the wood._

 _She had known this was coming, she had been forced to stay after school when she'd slapped a girl across the face for pulling her hair, and now she was paying for it. She didn't cry when it happened anymore, she'd learned not to because they would just make it worse if she did._

 _"You were supposed to be home an hour ago to do your chores!"_

 _She opened her mouth to explain, but was kicked in the ribs by her father before she could get a word out._

 _"Did I say you could fucking speak?! I don't give a shit what excuse you have, it'll just give me more of a reason to kick your ass!" Her father roughly grabbed her by the arm before throwing her towards the stairs, she crashed into them & grunted when she felt a sharp pain explode in her ribs._

 _"Get the fuck upstairs! And I'd better not see you for the rest of the night!" Her mother screamed at her and she nodded before forcing herself to climb the stairs, she tried not to cry out from the intense pain she felt all over her body as she limped to her room before closing the door & locking it._

 _If there was a god, he sure as hell didn't give a shit about her._

* * *

 ***Six years later***

 _"Thanks Mr. Bennett!" An eleven year old Rose thanked the old man as he handed her a $10 bill._

 _"Hey, you worked hard today, you earned it." He gave her a kind smile as she pocketed the money. She gave him a small smile back & waved before walking away._

 _She'd been doing odd jobs around town over the summer, she'd managed to do so by convincing her mother that they wouldn't have to deal with her as much if they let her go out after finishing her 'chores', as long as she got back by sunset._

 _The fact that her mother even agreed to it still amazed her beyond belief._

 _She shook her head to clear her thoughts and looked up to check the position of the sun._

 _It was starting to sink low in the sky._

 _She quickly ran to her bike and pedaled as fast as she could without crashing, just BARELY managing to make it home as the sky started to turn pink._

 _"You got lucky this time whore, your father had to work a double shift."_

 _She mentally sighed in relief before nodding to her mother._

 _"Just get upstairs before I change my mind about not mentioning this to your father."_

 _She didn't need to be told twice._

 _She quickly raced up the stairs and locked her bedroom door before pulling out the money that she'd managed to make that day and moving over to one of the outlets in her room, she carefully managed to pry the front off of it to reveal an empty space behind it with a little wooden box hidden inside._

 _She opened it up to reveal a small wad of cash rolled up & held together by a rubber band._

'Well miss Rosie, rough day for work, but _every_ little penny counts.'

 _She sighed before adding the measly thirteen-dollars to the roll & quickly put everything back into place as she heard the front door slam open._

 _"ROSE! GET YOUR WORTHLESS ASS DOWN HERE NOW!"_

 _She sighed and quickly stood up to run out her door, ready to endure the beating she was sure to get._

* * *

 ***Three years later***

 _She didn't even flinch as her father punched her in the face one final time before spitting at her & walking into the living room to watch the football game that was playing on TV._

 _"Get up slut, you're not finished yet!" Her mother roughly grabbed her by the hair & pulled her into a standing position before shoving her in the direction of the kitchen._

 _"You'd better have that kitchen completely spotless in one hour, or else you won't have any meals for a week!"_

 _A fourteen year old Rose just nodded before beginning the task of cleaning the pigsty they called a kitchen. It took three trash bags just to clean up all the garbage & takeout boxes scattered on the floor and lining up the counters, she had to sweep the floor twice before she could even mop, and then she had to go over the floor three times with the mop just to get it completely clean!_

 _It's a good thing that she saved the counters & dishes for last, because her mother walked in as she was scrubbing the last pan._

 _"Hm, well it seems you actually managed to follow orders for once." Her mother ran her finger along every surface, and actually seemed satisfied when it came back spotless._

 _Rose finished cleaning the pan & let the water run down the drain before using the spray-hose to rinse the sink._

 _"Now get upstairs before I make you scrub the rest of the house!"_

 _She nodded before making her way to her room._

 _She'd had enough._

 _She locked her door before walking over to her secret safe & pulling out the money she'd been saving up for three years and counting it out._

 _She had $1500 altogether._

 _It would have to do._

 _She stuck it in her pocket and waited until she heard her parents snoring in their room at the far end of the hall before quietly opening her window and managing to climb into the old oak tree outside of it. She silently made it halfway down the branches before jumping down the rest of the way and quickly pulling an old backpack out of the bushes underneath the dining room window._

'I'm not dealing with this shit anymore, if I never see them again, it'll be too soon!'

 _She pulled a bus ticket out of the side pocket of her bag before running off into the night._


	19. Creature Of The Night

**AN: This might not be my best chapter, but I hope you enjoy it anyway. :)**

* * *

 ***Luna's POV***

' _What the fuck happened last night?!'_

I groaned as I forced myself to wake up, my head was _killing_ me & I just wanted to keep on sleeping, but my mind was racing so fast that it was impossible. I yawned before looking at the digital clock on our nightstand.

' _It's 2:30 in the afternoon?!'_

I've NEVER slept this late before! Even when I was a kid & was sick with a cold or the flu, I ALWAYS managed to wake up by 7:00 at the latest!

"Girls...girls! Wake up!" I shook Rose by the shoulder and she groaned before looking at me.

"Luna, go back to sleep! It's too early for this shit!"

"Rose, it's 2:30 in the afternoon, I JUST woke up."

Her eyes shot open and she quickly sat up. "WHAT?!" She looked at the clock and realized that I wasn't kidding.

"HOLY SHIT! What the _fuck_ was in that bottle?!"

I heard Katie & Amber yawn as I gave her a confused look.

"I don't remember much of last night, after the Chinese food & the pranks they pulled on Michael, all I remember is drinking from the bottle David gave us."

Rose nodded and I heard Katie & Amber make sounds of agreement. "Yeah, I think it was wine, maybe they drugged us or something."

I shook my head in the negative. "If they'd've drugged us, I don't think we'd be waking up fully clothed in our motel room."

"Touché." Rose nodded & yawned before stretching & standing up to walk towards the window.

We all hissed when she opened the blinds.

She cried out in pain before quickly lowering them again. "Ok, bad idea!"

"Gee, YA THINK?!" Amber growled and I buried my face in my pillow until I felt the pain in my head subside.

"I've had hangovers before, but _this_ is ridiculous!" Katie groaned and I nodded in agreement before realizing that I REALLY had to go to the bathroom.

I stood up & made my way to the bathroom, when I went to walk back out the door, I froze when I saw my reflection in the mirror.

I was transparent.

"Uh...girls! Come in here!" heard them get up & walk towards the bathroom.

"What's wrong Lu-" They froze when they saw my reflection, but then I realized that we were ALL transparent!

"W-WHAT THE HELL?!" Katie was starting to freak out and I wanted to join her, but managed to keep my cool when I realized it wouldn't solve anything.

"Ok ok, don't panic. Maybe it's something to do with the mirror or-"

That's when we all realized that we weren't the only ones that drank from that bottle last night.

"MICHAEL!"

* * *

 ***Third person POV***

The girls decided to go see Michael and find out if he was having the same problems.

But first they needed sunglasses.

They quickly made their way to the boardwalk & found a stand that sold sunglasses for cheap, sighing in relief when they were finally able to shield their eyes from the blinding sunlight.

"You guys too huh?"

They turned to see Sam walking toward them.

"Hey Sam. What do you mean?" Luna greeted him before asking, even though she probably knew the answer already.

"Michael. He slept till 2:00 today, he only woke up when he had to talk to mom on the phone, and he made me get his sunglasses beforehand."

"Really? We were actually on our way to go talk to him, mind if we head back with you?" Sam nodded and they followed after him as he led the way.

 ***Time skip, Luna's POV***

It turns out that Michael didn't remember much either.

Sam had told us that Lucy was going out on a date with Max tonight, I hope it goes well for her, she deserves some time to be 'Lucy' instead of 'mom' for a change.

It was a few hours past sunset now and we were all sitting at the Emerson's kitchen table when John walked in & started going through the cupboards.

"Anything around here that could pass for an aftershave?"

Sam looked around before spotting a bottle by the kitchen sink. "How 'bout some windex grandpa?"

"Yeah, let me see that!" Sam handed the bottle to him and we laughed when he actually put it on his face.

"Big date tonight grandpa?" Michael asked with a smirk.

"Gonna drop off some of my handiwork to the Widow Johnson."

"What'd ya stuff for her? Mr. Johnson?"

That was uncalled for.

We all gave him disapproving looks and John said goodbye to us before heading out the door.

"That wasn't funny Mike!" Sam scolded his brother before picking up a butter knife.

"I'm gonna make you a sandwich."

"Don't bother." Michael said as he took off his sunglasses, we decided to take ours off too as the brothers continued to argue.

"Lose the earring Mike! It's not you, It's _definitely_ not you!"

"Piss off!"

' _Wow, attitude much?'_

"You know, all you do is give attitude lately! Been watchin' too much Dynasty bud?"

As soon as the last word left his lips, there were suddenly bright lights shining through the kitchen window and the sound of motorcycles filled the air along with whooping & hollering.

Why were the boys here?

 ***Third person POV***

The sounds of motorcycles got louder & louder when a sudden gust of wind blew the curtains around.

Then the sound of whispering could be heard over the noise.

" _Michael, Michael_!" It kept whispering over & over again, they knew that voice.

David.

Michael stood up & walked towards the front door, Sam & the girls followed, but stayed back a bit.

"Don't open the door Mike!" Sam panicked as Michael walked over and turned the knob. "Mike don't!" Sam screamed as he opened the door.

Then it was gone.

The wind, the noise, the whispering, there wasn't even a tire track to indicate that anyone had even been there. The group stared out the door in bewilderment for a minute before Michael pulled the door closed.

"What's goin' on Mike?" Sam asked, but Michael didn't even turn to look at him.

"Go take your bath."

* * *

 ***Luna's POV***

I don't know what the hell the game is, but this is getting crazy!

Sam had offered for Amber to read some of his comics (since they both had a love for them) while he went to take his bath.

I didn't want any of us to be left alone after what just happened, so the four of us ended up hanging out in Sam's room while Michael went downstairs to get something to eat.

We giggled when we heard Sam singing along to "Ain't Got No Home" by Clarence "Frogman" Henry as it played on the radio. A few minutes later, I looked up when I heard Nanook growling & barking before hearing a loud crash, like someone had just fallen down the stairs.

' _What the fuck is going on?!'_

"Sam? Are you ok?!" I called as I knocked on the bathroom door while the girls rushed out to see what was wrong.

"Yeah! I'm ok!" I sighed in relief before heading out after the girls & joining Sam as he walked out of the bathroom towards the stairs.

It was pitch black, and I paused when a coppery smell hit my nose.

' _Blood.'_

"Mike? Michael you there?" We cautiously followed after Sam as he walked down the stairs. "Nanook?"

We heard a pained gasp coming from somewhere in the shadows.

"Michael?" Sam flipped on the lights to see Michael on the ground, his hand split wide open.

"Mike, what happened?!"

"Nanook."

"What about Nanook?! What'd you do to my dog you asshole?!"

"Nothing! I didn't hurt him! He bit me! This is my blood."

' _That's strange, a dog wouldn't bite someone unless they felt threatened.'_

"Why'd he bite you Michael? Huh?! What'd you do to him?!"

Michael stood up before giving him a scared/sad look. "He was protecting you."

Sam suddenly froze. "Look at your reflection in the mirror!" We followed Sam's gaze to a mirror that was hanging on the wall.

Michael was transparent, but Sam was not.

Sam walked over to stand beside him before lifting his hand, we could clearly see his hand through Michael's body.

"You're a creature of the night Michael! Just like out of a comic book!"

From our position on the stairs, our reflections couldn't be seen, or else Sam wouldn't have grabbed my hand to drag me along behind him.

"You're a vampire Michael! My own brother a goddamn shit-sucking vampire! Oh you wait 'til mom finds out buddy!"

Michael started calling after him as he pushed us toward his room before locking the door, he ran over to close & lock the door that led to the bathroom before grabbing a "Destroy All Vampires" comic book, along with the phone he had on his nightstand.

I looked at the girls & saw that they were just as scared as I was.

If Michael's turning into a vampire, then that means we are too.

I suddenly remembered the vision I had last night, did my father _know_ this would happen if we drank from the bottle?! If so, why the hell would he want me to become a vampire?!

'Edoda _, what've you gotten me into?!_ '


	20. Vampire Sickness

***Luna's POV***

 _ **"You did the right thing by calling us!"**_

Sam was on the phone with the frog brothers, I can't believe those little bastards were right all along!

 _ **"Does your brother sleep a lot?"**_

"Yeah, all day!"

 _ **"Does the sunlight freak him out?"**_

"Uh, he wears sunglasses in the house."

 _ **"Bad breath? Long fingernails?"**_ I discreetly looked down at my hands, my nails were DEFINITELY longer than usual.

I almost gagged when I checked my breath.

"Yeah, his fingernails are definitely longer. Uh, he always had bad breath though."

' _Really Sam?'_

 _ **"He's a vampire alright. Here's what you do; get yourself a good sharp stake, and drive it right through his heart!"**_

I knew they were psychotic, but I didn't think they were _murderous_!

"I can't do that! He's my brother!"

 _ **"Ok. We'll come over and do it for you."**_

 **"NO!"** We all screamed in unison.

 _ **"You'd better get yourself a garlic t-shirt buddy, or it's your funeral!"**_ That was the last thing we heard before the frogs hung up.

Well they weren't any help at all!

' _Wait a minute...'_

"Hey Sam, if Michael's a vampire, then how can he walk in the sunlight without burning up?" He thought for a minute before grabbing a comic titled "Vampires Everywhere!".

"Uh, Sam, what're you doing?" He didn't answer as he quickly flipped through the pages. "AHA! It says here that you don't become a full vampire until you make your first kill. Until then, you're only a half-vampire!"

' _Alright, now we're getting somewhere!'_

"Ok, what does that mean exactly?" Amber cautiously asked before Sam turned to her with a small smile.

"It says that the symptoms of being a half-vampire include aversion to sunlight-"

' _Check.'_

"Extreme fatigue & weakness during daylight hours-"

' _Check.'_

"A transparent reflection-"

' _Definitely.'_

"Long fingernails, bad breath-"

' _Unfortunately yes.'_

"A thirst for blood, and extreme stomach pains."

' _Wait, what?'_

 ***Third person POV***

Rose suddenly cried out in pain before clutching her stomach & falling to the floor.

"Oh shit!"

Amber & Katie crouched down beside her and tried to calm her down while Luna tried to explain things to a terrified Sam, who now realized that he had _four_ half-vampires in his bedroom.

"Sammy, listen to me, if we wanted to hurt you we would've done it by now. Is there anything in that comic about how to reverse it?"

Sam didn't say anything, but started looking through the pages while keeping a wary eye on Rose, who was breathing heavily as the other three tried to talk her down from the pain.

"Luna! It hurts so bad! I feel like my stomach is being ripped apart from the inside!" She had tears in her eyes as she looked at her sister in desperation. "Make it stop! Please!"

"Luna! I found something!" Luna told Katie to rub Rose's back and have her take deep breaths while she walked over to read over Sam's shoulder.

She thought she heard something crash in Michael's room, but dismissed it as Sam pointed to a section in the comic book.

"It says here that if you kill the head vampire, all half-vampires will return to normal!"

* * *

 ***Luna's POV***

So if we want to return to being human, we have to kill the head vampire.

' _David.'_

I looked over at Rose to see that her breathing was finally returning to normal, she was so happy when she was around David, I've never seen her smile so brightly or laugh so much than when she was around him.

There has to be another way.

"Let me see that Sam." As soon as my fingers touched the pages, I had another vision.

 ***Luna's vision***

 **Carnage.**

 **That's all I saw everywhere I looked.**

 **I was in the living room of the Emerson house, everything was destroyed, and I could see the exploded remains of a corpse scattered on the floor, I gasped when I caught sight of a familiar jacket with a leopard on the arm still draped over part of the corpse.**

 **Dwayne.**

 **I felt tears welling up in my eyes before turning to look around the room and froze when I saw David's lifeless body impaled on a pair of antelope antlers.**

 **Suddenly everything faded to black & I heard voices through the darkness, I couldn't tell what they were saying, but I recognized the voices of Sam, the frog brothers & Michael. The voice of Edgar frog suddenly became loud & clear.**

 **"What's the big deal?! You destroyed the head vampire!"**

 **"Nothing's changed!" I heard Michael's voice answer him.**

 **"He's right, I don't feel any different!" I was surprised when I heard Star's voice, but what Edgar said next chilled me to the bone.**

 **"Then there's still one more."**

 ***End of vision, Luna's POV***

' _So David's NOT the head vampire! Then who is?!'_

I didn't have time to think about it before I heard Michael scream.

' _What the hell?!_ '


	21. What A Night(mare)

**(Warning: this chapter contains scenes of a minor smoking weed, I do not, have not, and never will encourage or promote this in any way, shape, or form)**

* * *

 ***Luna's POV***

We were wondering what was happening to Michael, when suddenly the phone rang. Sam quickly answered it and I heard Lucy's voice on the other end of the line.

' _Oh shit!'_

"Mom, I think we need to have a really long talk about something."

' _No you little idiot!'_ I snapped my fingers to get his attention and quickly shook my head while making the 'be quiet!' motion across my throat.

I suddenly heard Michael screaming on the other end of the line.

 _ **"What's that noise?! That's not**_ **Michael** _**is it?!"**_

"Uh, Luna..." I looked over at Amber to see that her eyes were wide & she was pointing out the window. I turned to look out the window & froze.

Michael was _floating_ outside.

' _WHAT THE FUCK?!'_

I paled when I noticed that he had a phone clutched in his hand.

' _Son of a bitch!'_

"Don't listen to him mom! He doesn't know what he's saying! Shut up Sam!"

Sam started freaking out when he saw Michael in the window & I quickly snatched the phone from his hand before Amber grabbed him & covered his mouth.

I had to think fast.

"Michael, quit scaring your brother!" I spoke in a condescending tone and pointed to Katie & Rose before pointing to the window.

 _ **"Luna? Is that you?!"**_

"Yeah, the girls & I came over to hang out this afternoon, I hope that's alright."

 _ **"I-it's fine, but WHAT is going on over there?!"**_

I quickly thought before turning to see Katie & Rose trying to open the window.

"Oh nothing, Michael's just playing a prank on Sam. Michael! Stop screaming before I slap you upside the head!" I said when I heard Michael let out a yell, I heard Lucy sigh in relief and mentally did the same.

 _ **"Oh thank god! I thought something was really wrong!"**_

"No no! Everything's fine, trust me. You just focus on having a good time with Max, the girls & I will babysit the morons!" I smiled when I heard Lucy let out a breathy laugh & shot Sam a look when I heard a muffled protest from him, he gulped before quickly shutting up.

 _ **"Oh thank you Luna, you're a true friend! And just so you know, you have my full permission to follow through on that threat!"**_

I felt bad for lying to her, but smirked when I heard the last part.

"Thank you, believe me, after the shit they just pulled, they deserve to get smacked!" I heard her laugh and turned to see that the girls had managed to pull Michael inside.

"Ok Lucy, go back to your date, we've got things covered here."

 _ **"Ok, thank you Luna!"**_ She hung up and I turned to give the boys a stern look.

"Are you fucking insane?!"

Amber let go of Sam and he quickly rounded on me. "Why'd you do that Luna?! Mom needs to know whats going on-"

"Sam! _THINK_ before you speak! If you get your mother involved, then she'll be in danger too! Is that what you want?!"

He didn't say another word.

"Yeah. That's what I thought." I looked over at Michael, who was breathing heavily and having a hard time standing up. "What the hell happened Michael?!"

"I don't know! I just laid down to try & go to sleep, next thing I know I'm waking up on the ceiling!"

I sighed and pinched the bridge of my nose.

' _I'm not high enough for this shit!'_

* * *

 ***Third person POV***

Michael had said that he was going to work things out before leaving on his motorcycle, that left the girls to watch Sam.

"Ok, remember, not a word about this to Lucy! Understand?" The others (including a reluctant Sam) nodded before splitting up. Katie, Amber & Sam decided to read comic books in the living room while Luna & Rose cleaned up the mess that Michael had made in the kitchen.

"Hey Katie, you got a joint?"

Katie didn't even look up from her comic as she reached into her coat pocket & pulled one out.

"Is that a trick question?" We all laughed as she pulled out her matches.

"Good. I think we need one after all the shit that's happened."

"I second that!" The girls laughed as they stood up to walk toward the back door.

"Uh...c-can I join you guys?"

Luna's eyebrows rose to her hairline when Sam spoke up. " _You_ wanna try smoking weed?!" He nodded and the girls all looked at each other before turning to smirk at him. "Well...alright, but don't tell your mother, she'd skin us alive if she knew!"

He smiled before standing up to walk outside with them, Katie got it rolling while Luna turned to Sam.

"Now Sam, the only reason I said yes is because I started smoking when I was the same age as you, so it would be hypocritical for me to say no. But I'll warn you right now, you'll cough your brains out at first. Think you can handle it?"

"Yeah! I can handle it!"

Luna smirked & raised an eyebrow as the joint was passed to her. "We'll see."

She took a big hit off of it before performing a French inhale (much to Sam's amazement)

"Ok, your turn kid. Word of advice; only take small hits at first, at least until you get used to it." He nodded and breathed before taking a hit, quickly blowing it out when he felt his throat burning from the smoke and proceeding to cough so much that he was afraid he'd hack up a lung (much to the girls amusement)

"It's ok Sam, you actually didn't cough as bad as I did the first time I smoked!" She was slightly surprised and Sam managed to stop coughing before puffing his chest out with pride.

"HA! See? I told you I could handle it!"

"Yeah yeah, wait 'til the effects hit ya full force boy, then we'll see how well you handle it!"

 ***Short time skip, Luna's POV***

' _Oh my_ god _this is funny!'_

I know it's his first time, but Sam's a total lightweight! He was sitting on the grass with Katie & Amber and had a "perma-smile" on his face as he told us about a few of the misadventures he & Michael had growing up.

"So-so then I dared him to go up on the high-dive, and when he did, I snuck up behind him & pushed him off! I've never heard him scream like a girl before, and I almost fell off myself from laughing so hard!"

We all laughed before I decided that we needed to "sober up". I pulled a few peppermint candies out of my pocket before walking over to the others.

 **(AN: eating peppermint - or spearmint if you prefer - after smoking weed actually does sober you up. Don't ask how I know that! -_-")**

"Hey guys, eat up." I handed them each a piece before popping one in my mouth, the strong minty taste immediately cleared my head (at least enough that it wasn't TOO obvious that I was high as a kite, that shit that Katie had was STRONG!)

"WOAH!" Sam snapped back into reality, along with the girls.

"Yeah, I think you should get to bed before your mom gets home!" Sam nodded & stood up before (slightly) stumbling towards the house.

"Can I eat first? I'm starving!" We all laughed and followed him into the kitchen.

"Yeah, getting the munchies is one of the main side effects, so don't worry about it."

We ended up making sandwiches and us girls actually managed to keep them down (I guess the weed made it so we wouldn't get the stomach pains like Michael had)

"Remember Sammy, don't tell your mother!" He just laughed before disappearing up the stairs.

It was about five minutes later that we heard Lucy pull in.

 ***Third person POV***

Lucy walked through the door & the girls immediately asked how her date went, she told them she'd had a great time, but had cut the date short (she'd planned on staying out for another hour, but had gotten worried about her sons)

Luna wanted to strangle them.

Lucy saw that the girls were "tired", so she offered for them to stay the night, they were about to protest, but she insisted and they eventually accepted her offer.

Luna hoped that things would work out soon, because she was getting tired of running into trouble everywhere she went.


	22. Fighting Spirit

**AN: I do love reading reviews, so don't be afraid to comment & tell me what you think! :)**

* * *

 ***Flashback***

 _"GET BACK HERE YOU LITTLE THIEF!"_

 _An eleven year old Luna rushed down the street with the wallet she'd managed to snag, she wasn't a very good pickpocket yet, but she was getting better every time._

 _She quickly turned to run down a familiar alleyway before opening up the wallet & pocketing the $50 inside, dropping the empty (of cash only) wallet, she jumped the chain link fence that separated one alleyway from another and hid behind a few boxes stacked against a wall._

 _She carefully peeked through a small crack between them to see the man that had been chasing her running down the alleyway before spotting his wallet on the ground, he picked it up before checking its contents._

 _"FUCK! Well, at least she left my cards." He shook his head & looked around one last time before turning to walk back the way he came._

 _Luna sighed in relief when she didn't hear his footsteps anymore. "Man, that was close!" She whispered before making her way out of the narrow alleyway & casually walking down the dimly-lit streets of NYC._

 _Is this really what her life had amounted to? Stealing from people & putting herself through hell just to get her next meal?_

' _Edoda_...why did you have to leave me?'

 _She bit her lip & clenched her fists to try & stop the tears that were building up, eventually managing to calm down before continuing to try & find a place to sleep for the night._

 _"Hey kid!"_

 _She turned to see eight full-grown men the size of NFL football players standing there with knives, one of them had a metal baseball bat in his hand._

'Well, this is bad!'

 _Luna cautiously studied them, watching for any sign of attack. "You talkin' to me?" They laughed at her as she continued to stare at them._

 _"Kid thinks she's Robert Deniro! Haha, don't you know where you are?"_

 _"No, I don't."_

 _The guy with the bat gave her what he thought was an "intimidating" look._

 _Luna was not impressed._

 _"You're in the dragon's den bitch!" She finally noticed that they all had matching leather jackets with a dragon on the sleeve, and each dragon was a different color._

 _So they were a gang._

 _"Look, I don't want any trouble, I was just passing through."_

 _"You're still trespassing kid, so the way I see it, you've got two choices: either 1) you pay the toll, and we let you leave quietly. Or 2) we beat the shit out of you & leave you dead in the gutter."_

 _She REALLY didn't want any trouble with these guys, but she needed the money or else she'd starve to death._

' _Ma'heo'o_ , I know that what I'm about to do is reckless & stupid, but please give me the strength to come out of this alive!'

 _She breathed deeply before steeling her nerves._

 _"You know, the way you talk, you're no better than the boys at my school who bully kids into giving them their lunch money!"_

 _She smirked as they stared at her in disbelief. "You call yourselves men? All I see are little boys that haven't let go of their time in the schoolyard!"_

 _They seemed shocked at the balls on this little kid, but quickly got over it before growling at her._

 _"You're dead!" They yelled before charging her, Luna knew she wouldn't be able to outrun them, so she stood her ground._

 _When the leader swung the bat at her, everything seemed to move in slow motion and she felt as if she had no control of her actions from that point on._

 _Without even thinking about it, she ducked & grabbed the bat before yanking it in the opposite direction, the thug's momentum worked against him and she managed to pull it from his grip before swinging it as hard as she could, hitting one guy in the kneecap & hearing the satisfying crunch as his leg broke from the force of the blow._

 _She managed to dodge another hit when one of them tried to stab her and brought the bat down on his wrist, he cried out in pain & dropped the knife before being hit in the face by the bat, his jaw broke & he went down hard on the concrete before blacking out._

'One down.'

 _She heard a yell and turned just in time to see one of them charging at her, she swung the bat around and hit him in the stomach, knocking the wind out of him & causing him to double over in pain, giving her the opportunity to reach up and kick him in the jaw, she saw blood drip from his mouth as he fell to the ground, unconscious._

'Two down.'

 _A swing & a punch here._

'Three.'

 _A kick & a double-hit there._

'Five.'

 _She vaguely felt a stinging pain in her shoulder as she rounded on another one._

'Six.'

 _She was suddenly grabbed by the one with the broken leg, who had somehow managed to get to his feet despite his injury, she felt him wrap his arms around her before starting to squeeze her tight to his chest._

 _He was trying to break her back!_

 _She couldn't use her arms, and her legs wouldn't affect him if she tried kicking him._

'Only one thing left to try!'

 _She growled before reaching up & biting him on the chin as hard as she could, he was so surprised that he quickly ripped her away from him, causing her to take off a good chunk of his chin, he screamed in pain and she quickly spit out the hunk of flesh as she hit the ground before grabbing the bat & swinging it around to hit the guy that was trying to come up behind her right in the groin._

 _He squeaked before falling to the ground, gripping his injured pride. Luna kicked him in the head to knock him out before kicking the last one in his broken leg, making him scream in pain as he hit the ground._

' **Eight.'**

 _Luna growled & spat out the leftover blood in her mouth before walking over to the only conscious one left, he looked up into the face of the little she-demon that had just managed to kick his ass, along with seven other men that were at least three-times her size._

 _"Bear this in mind asshole; if you or your little friends ever get the urge to fuck with me again, don't!" She curb-stomped him in the face, knocking him out cold._

 _She didn't know where the hell that came from, but she thanked_ Ma'heo'o _that she made it out alive._

 _Then she felt the pain._

 _She grunted & dropped the metal blood-covered bat in favor of clutching her shoulder, pulling her hand away to find it covered in blood._

'Shit!'

 _Well, Ma'heo'o may have let her live, but he never said he'd let her go unscathed._

 _She shook her head & returned to clutching her injured shoulder, her head shot up when she heard someone slowly clapping their hands._

 _"Well well well, I gotta say, that was quite a show you put on kid."_

 _She heard murmurs of agreement coming from the shadows around her before a man with dark skin, a shaved head, and multiple scars all over his body stepped out of an alleyway._

 _He wasn't very big, but he was well-built for his size, and obviously had seen his fair share of fights judging by the marks on his flesh. She briefly noticed that the man had one blind eye, no doubt caused by whatever left the giant scar that ran down the length of his face._

 _"Those assholes have had it comin' for a long,_ long _time. I don't know who or WHAT you are, but you've got spirit girl, that's for damn sure!"_

 _"Forgive me for not thanking you for the praise, but I've had a really shitty day, my shoulder hurts like a bitch & naturally I'm in a bad mood, so don't take it personally."_

 _She heard multiple voices screaming with laughter all around her, but kept her eyes on the only one she could see. His eyebrows rose to his hairline (he didn't have hair, but you get the picture) and she saw a large smile split his face._

 _"What's your name?"_

 _She smirked before standing up straight. "Don't you know it's common courtesy to give your own name first?"_

 _She heard a few "ooooo's" coming from the shadows as the man crossed his arms while shaking his head in bewilderment._

 _"Fair enough, call me Draven."_

 _She nodded in greeting._

 _"Luna."_


	23. Who Is It?

***Third person POV***

Luna & the girls had - by some miracle - managed to wake up before noon and were sitting at the kitchen table chatting with Sam as he ate his breakfast.

They turned to look when a disheveled Michael walked through the door.

 ***Luna's POV***

"Well...looks like I wasn't the only one that got lucky last night huh?" John Emerson asked with a knowing grin.

' _Oh god, tell me he didn't do what - or who - I THINK he did!'_

"Did you take care of everything Mike?" He chose not to answer as he turned to walk toward his room.

' _Men! Good for nothing morons, the lot of them!'_

I sighed & shook my head before getting up & walking to the bathroom, only to pause when I saw what was left of my reflection. Aside from the transparency, I noticed that my ribs weren't showing through my skin anymore, in fact, I looked exactly the way I did two weeks ago!

Come to think of it, I haven't had any bone pains, night sweats or nosebleeds since the night I drank from the bottle.

' _I'm...cured?'_

I felt a huge weight lift off my shoulders when I realized that I was cured of my leukemia and couldn't stop an elated smile from splitting my face.

' _Dwayne you sneaky bastard! If you were here right now I'd fucking kiss you senseless, after I slap the shit out of you for tricking me of course!'_

* * *

 ***Time skip, third person POV***

Lucy had offered to give the girls a ride to the boardwalk as long as they didn't mind if she made one stop first.

Of course they said yes.

They were now piled in the back of Lucy's station wagon while Sam sat up front (they'd decided that they needed to visit the frog brothers, even though they didn't really want to) and Luna whistled when they pulled up to a (very nice) house on the outskirts of Santa Carla. "Wow, is this Max's place?"

"Yep. Beautiful isn't it?" Lucy said as more of a statement than a question.

"What's the wine for mom?"

"I'm leaving this as an apology to Max for cutting our date short last night, which young man, YOU should be making!"

"Yeah Sam!" Luna reached up to lightly cuff Sam upside the head, making him grumble in annoyance.

They watched as Lucy walked over to the gate. "Guys, I'm gonna take this up to the house or somebody'll just take it!"

A chorus of "ok" and "sure mom" sounded from the car as Lucy opened the gate.

"Guys, something's wrong!" They gave Amber confused looks as she got out to stand in front of the car while facing the gate, watching apprehensively as a white dog came trotting out.

"Hi Thorn!"

They felt their heart drop into their stomachs when the dog suddenly started growling & barking aggressively before chasing Lucy down the path.

"SHIT!" Amber ran full-speed towards the gate while Sam & the girls quickly got out of the car to follow after her, they jumped back in shock when Amber suddenly cleared the gate in one jump before landing in a crouching position right between Lucy & the dog.

 _ **"NO!"**_ She yelled at 'Thorn' and the girls watched as she growled while staring him directly in the eye, he had stopped as soon as she'd landed in front of him & was growling while staring her down.

The girls quickly opened the gate to let Lucy out and she collapsed breathlessly in Sam's arms.

"Amber, Lucy's safe! Get out of there!"

She kept complete eye contact with Thorn before "raising her hackles", making herself seem more intimidating to him. Then to their surprise, the dog's ears lowered & he put his tail between his legs before cautiously moving closer to her & dropping down to roll onto his stomach.

He was _submitting_ to her!

Amber firmly placed her hand on his stomach before letting him get up & run back to the house.

"How the FUCK did you do that?!"

Amber simply stood up and casually made her way back to the car. "You can't back down for anything when challenging an alpha."

They swore they would never understand that girl!

* * *

 ***Time skip, Luna's POV***

"So then the dog starts chasing my mom like the hounds of hell in Vampires Everywhere!" Sam was explaining the incident with Thorn to the frog brothers (they'd been reluctant to let us anywhere near them, but Rose had somehow managed to talk them into listening)

"We've been aware of some serious vampire activity for some time!" Edgar explained as he & Alan were opening up the shop.

"Santa Carla's become a haven for the undead!" Alan added as he pulled out a few stands that were already filled with comics.

"As a matter of fact, we're almost certain that werewolves & ghouls occupy high positions in city hall!"

"Kill your brother. You'll feel better."

I've never wanted to hit a kid so badly before!

"Guys! If my brother's a vampire, believe me, he's only half! And so are the girls!"

Edgar turned to look at us. "Do any of you know who the head vampire is?"

"No, but I _can_ tell you for a fact that it's not any of the guys we hang out with."

The girls gave me confused looks.

"How do you know Luna?" I turned to answer Rose. "Remember when I told you about my 'gift'?"

Her eyes widened in shock. "B-but, you said that you haven't had a vision since you were nine!"

"I know, but ever since we came here I've been having them left & right!" Everyone stared at me in total disbelief.

"You can have visions?!" Sam looked like his eyes were about to pop out of his head at any moment.

"Yeah. The last one I had before we came here was of my father's funeral, he died of leukemia a year later."

Edgar walked over to stand in front of me. "Ok, lets say that you _are_ telling the truth, what _exactly_ did you see?"

I went on to explain every single detail of my last vision, and was glad when Edgar listened patiently before asking questions. "So let me get this straight; we somehow managed to kill all the known-vampires thus far?"

"Yep."

"And we even manage to kill the one that we _think_ is the head vampire, but nothing happens and you halflings don't change back."

"Uh-huh."

"Ok, so that means there's a fifth vampire running around Santa Carla! But who is it?"

So he was willing to believe me, that's good, but I guess if he believes that vampires are real, then why not someone that can see the future at random times?

"Now that I think about it, this all started right after my mom started working at Max's video store." We all turned to look at Sam as he continued. "Max never comes in until after it's dark...the dog that chased my mom this morning was his...and listen to this-"

He paused to flip the pages of his comic.

"Vampires require a daytime protector, a guardian, to watch over them as they sleep. Fierce dogs, the hounds of hell are often employed for this purpose."

"So?"

"So what if my mom's dating the head vampire?"

' _Well this outta be interesting!'_


	24. Help From The Trickster

***Luna's POV***

While Sam & the frog brothers worked out a plan to figure out wether or not Max was really the head vampire, I decided to walk around the boardwalk.

 _Nvdo Ayoli_

 **(Moon Child)**

I froze before looking around to see who had spoken my true name, I'm the only (living) person that knows of it!

There was no one around.

' _Ok, what the_ fuck _is going on?!'_

I suddenly felt like there was a hand on my shoulder & turned to look behind me.

No one was there.

 _Nvdo Ayoli_

 **(moon child)**

I heard the voice again and turned to look down an alleyway, feeling my blood turn to ice when I saw a jet-black coyote with deep blue eyes staring at me from the shadows.

' _Oh_ Ma'heo'o _!'_

My breathing became shallow & rapid as his eyes glowed ice-blue & I heard the voice again.

 _Asdawadvsdi ayv_

 **(Follow me)**

I don't know what the hell is going on, but if this coyote is who I think he is, it'd be unwise for me to say no!

I nodded before walking towards him and he turned to lead me down the alleyway, I felt as if my feet had a mind of their own from that point on.

He suddenly disappeared & I felt myself stop, as if I had to wait for something.

 _Ahani_

 **(Here)**

I turned to the left & followed him as he led me through a maze of alleyways before the pathway opened up. I was confused when he walked over to the doorway of an old building and looked up at the worn-out sign, the paint was so faded that I could only make out the word "bookstore".

Why would Coyote bring me here?

I looked at him in confusion and he motioned for me to come inside before walking through the door (and I mean that LITERALLY!)

I didn't question it any further as I opened the door & walked inside,

the place was surprisingly well-kept and several worn leather-bound books lined the shelves, but I didn't see a single person anywhere.

Where was coyote?

" _Eduda_?"

 **(Grandfather? {Cherokee})**

I barely spoke above a whisper as I roamed through the shelves.

 **"Can I help you?"**

I spun around to see an old man with long gray hair tied up in a braid standing behind me.

' _Holy shit that scared me!'_

"U-uh, I'm sorry, I was just-"

 **"Following a friend?"** He said it as more of a statement than a question while giving me a knowing smile.

"H-how did you-?"

 **"Lets just say that I know more than you think, Nvdo Ayoli."**

(Moon child)

That's when I noticed his eyes.

My own eyes widened & I felt my heart drop to my stomach. "Y-you're-" He turned to walk down an aisle before I could finish my sentence and I quickly followed him as he began to scan through the shelves, he pulled out a black & silver leather-bound book before turning to face me.

 **"You may not show it, but there is a war raging inside your heart."**

"What do you-" He put a hand up to silence me before continuing.

 **"You want to protect the sons of Jumlin, but you also wish to help the Emerson boy become yvwi again."**

(Yvwi = human)

 _(AN: In Cherokee mythology, Jumlin was a bloodthirsty demon that became known as 'the father of all vampires' after he possessed the body of a medicine man & bore many bloodthirsty half-human offspring)_

 **"There is much you don't know, but perhaps this will help you find the answers you seek."**

I hesitantly took the ancient-looking tome from his outstretched hands.

' _Hold on a second...'_

"Y-you are 'The Trickster', how do I know I can trust you _Wayaha_?"

 **(Coyote)**

He gave me a mysterious smile.

 **"Haliyi Waya adanvsga utseli gvgeyui."**

(Gray Wolf sends his love.)

I felt my heart stop and before I could say anything, there was a bright flash of light & I had to clench my eyes shut for fear of going completely blind.

I slowly opened my eyes, only to find that I was standing exactly where I had been before coyote showed up. At first I thought I'd had another vision without realizing it, but then I looked down when I felt something in my arms.

I was holding the book in a white-knuckle grip.

* * *

 ***Time skip, third person POV***

Luna & the girls had found out from Lucy that Max was coming over to her house for dinner and had immediately offered to help her cook & set everything up, she'd only agreed when they told her that as her friends, they had to meet & judge. (They'd even made her laugh by saying that someone had to make sure her father didn't stuff the poor man)

Sam had also heard about the dinner date & had immediately told the frog brothers, who agreed that it'd be a perfect opportunity to find out wether or not he was the head vampire. Sam told the girls the details of their plan, and they agreed to play along, but refused to participate in any of their shenanigans (much to the annoyance of the frog brothers)

Katie & Amber were cleaning and setting the table while Rose & Luna were helping Lucy cook the spaghetti dinner.

"Smells good. When do we eat?" John Emerson was snooping around the kitchen and Luna threatened to smack him with a wooden spoon when he attempted to steal one of the garlic rolls.

"I told Max 8:00." Lucy said as she tasted the sauce to check wether or not it was perfect.

" _Max_?! We gonna have company again?" John whined like an upset child (much to Luna's amusement)

"Again?! Dad, you haven't had company in this house since mom died eight years ago!"

"Right, and now we're gonna have company again!"

The girls couldn't help but giggle at the old fart since he was complaining worse than Katie when she runs out of herb.

Rose finished her task of cutting up bread & butter and took over watching the garlic rolls when Luna said she had to go to the bathroom.

 ***Luna's POV***

In case you're wondering, yes, I'm still shaken up from my encounter with the trickster.

I had taken the time to look through the book he'd given me after the incident, and quickly discovered that not only was it untitled and had no author, but also filled cover-to-cover with information on vampires, from legends to facts and also the reasons why people think that certain things like "Vampires can't cross running water" and "Garlic repels vampires" are true when they're definitely NOT.

It was interesting and extremely insightful to say the least.

I turned to walk out of the kitchen when I saw Michael coming down the stairs.

"Oh Michael, Max is coming over for dinner, I'd like you to meet him."

"I can't, I have plans."

' _Probably going to see his bitch again.'_

Don't get the wrong idea, I don't hate Star because I have feelings for Michael, that's the _farthest_ thing from the truth! Besides, he's seventeen, I'm twenty, I don't date younger guys.

No, I have two reasons why I hate her so much;

1) She doesn't take very good care of Laddie AT ALL.

And 2) SHE'S the one that got Michael mixed up in all of this vampire bullshit in the first place!

If it were just me & the girls, I wouldn't mind us becoming vampires at all (although if for some reason the girls didn't want that, I'd help them become human again, sisters before misters!)

But no, I care about the Emerson family as a whole. Lucy is a very sweet woman, and I admit that she's the closest thing to a real mother that I've ever had. John is a grumpy old fart, but he also has a sense of humor (he actually reminds me of White Crow now that I think about it) and as for Sam & Michael, I've never had brothers before, and despite a few character flaws (mostly from Michael) I've begun to see them as my younger brothers.

When I consider somebody family, I protect them with my life, plain & simple.

I paused to watch as Michael opened the door to find a rather tall man with brown hair & glasses about to ring the doorbell.

"Hi! You must be Michael, right?"

Michael stared for a minute before giving him an unimpressed look. "And you must be _Max_."

' _So_ this _is Max?_ This _is the supposed head vampire?'_

I studied him as he shook hands with Michael, Lucy wasn't kidding when she said he was tall, the man looked to be around 6'7" at LEAST! He was a bit on the nerdy side when it came to looks, but he wasn't hideous. I smiled when I saw a bouquet in his hands.

"Well, you're the man of the house, and I'm not coming in till you invite me."

I narrowed my eyes when he said that. It could just be him trying to get on Michael's good side, but the book that coyote gave me said that if you invite a vampire into your home, it renders you completely powerless.

' _Sneaky bastard.'_

"You're invited."

"Thanks very much." I didn't miss the slight look of triumph on his face as he entered the house, and also noticed John Emerson watching from his taxidermy room, he looked the same way I felt.

Suspicious.

I smirked when he silently closed the door like a creeper.

I honestly think the old man knows more than he lets on about, it wouldn't surprise me in the least if he knew about the vampires of Santa Carla. I shook my head at the old man before deciding to make myself known.

"So you're the one Lucy can't stop talking about!" I put on a smile as I walked over to him.

"Oh, hello! I didn't see you there. Luna, right?"

"That's me." He smiled and I shook hands with him before he gave me a strange look, it wasn't mean or judgmental in any way, it was just...strange.

"I've seen you & your friends hanging out with David's gang, maybe you girls can manage to keep them in line and out of trouble if you decide to stick around."

"You know the boys huh?"

"Oh yes, I've kicked them out of my store several times over the years!" I couldn't help but laugh at that and saw him smile. "But ever since you girls started hanging with them, they haven't caused as much trouble as they usually do. In fact, They've only come into my store once since you showed up, so I guess I owe you one!"

Ok, vampire or not, this guy's starting to grow on me, but that doesn't mean I won't stake the bastard if he tries to hurt my girls or the Emersons!

"You seem like an ok guy Max. But I'll warn you right now, Lucy & her family have become my family as well, so if you hurt any of them in any way, shape, or form, I _will_ make you regret it!"

To my surprise, he just smiled at me. "You remind me of a mother bear protecting her cubs, it's no surprise why Dwayne likes you. Don't worry Luna, I wouldn't dream of hurting Lucy, or anyone else in her family."

I blushed when he mentioned Dwayne, but then he leaned closer to me before speaking just above a whisper.

"In fact, I hope I get to welcome all of you into MY family very soon."


	25. Dinner Disaster

***Luna's POV***

I've gotta tell the boys about Michael inviting Max in.

I'm about 98% sure that he's the head vampire, but even if he isn't and he's just weird, I still outta warn the boys that their tricks won't work tonight either way.

I was about to knock on Sam's door (the frog brothers had been snuck in by Sam through the back door a little while ago) when I heard them talking.

"But guys, if Max _is_ the head vampire, then we only have to kill _him_ to turn Mike & the girls human again!"

"Sam, if we just kill the head and let the other bloodsuckers live, they'll keep killing people left & right! And besides, who's to say they won't come after _us_ if we kill their leader?! No, they've _all_ gotta die, plain & simple!"

' _Oh those little MOTHERFUCKERS!'_

I growled under my breath & had to fight down the urge to rip them to pieces for even suggesting killing the boys.

 _'They wanna go behind my back? Well then I guess I'll let them find out the hard way!_ '

* * *

 ***Third person POV***

"Lucy this looks delicious."

"Well I had a little help from the girls, so I can't take all the credit."

Everyone (minus grandpa Emerson) was sitting down at the dinner table, the girls waved off Lucy's comment and Max smiled.

" _Boy!_ Somebody around here has bad breath!" Luna had to bite back a laugh when the boys immediately looked at Max.

"Nanook, would you quit breathing on me?" The girls giggled at the big goof as Sam told him to get upstairs before grabbing a small bowl. "You want some Parmesan cheese on that?"

Max took the offered dish of "cheese" before putting it on his food.

"Sam grated the cheese himself. My son." Lucy stated with a hint of pride & Luna had to bite back a smirk as Max started choking.

"Are you alright?!"

"No, it's not cheese, it's garlic!"

"I bet you _hate_ garlic don't you?!"

"No, I like garlic, it's just a little much!"

Amber reached over to lightly smack Sam in the back of the head as Lucy took the dish & smelled it. " _Garlic?!_ How did that happen?!"

Luna laughed under her breath as Sam offered him a glass of water before dumping it in his lap, causing him to jump up in surprise. "Does it burn?!"

"Burn? What're you _nuts_?! It's _freezing_!" Luna was trying to hold in her laughter as the lights went out.

" _Now_ what?!"

"Probably a circuit-breaker mom!"

Luna had to cover her mouth with her hand when she heard Edgar comment on the fact that Max wasn't glowing.

' _Vampires don't glow in the dark!'_

The lights came on and Max cried out in shock when he found his reflection staring back at him.

"Sam! What is the _matter_ with you?!" Lucy scolded her son as the girls looked on in slight anger/amusement.

"I think I know what's going on here." Everyone looked at Max in confusion. "You do?"

"Yeah, I know what you're thinking Sam, but you're wrong." Sam looked at him in fear. "I am?"

"Yes! I'm not trying to replace your father, or steal your mother away from you. I would just like to be your friend, that's all." The boys sighed in relief and Lucy gave Sam a disapproving look before walking Max to the door.

Luna couldn't hide a smirk of triumph when she saw the boys defeated looks.

"Major mistake guys."

Luna gave the girls a look and they quickly grabbed the boys by the ears as she walked over to stand in front of them before crossing her arms.

"While the girls & I go and console your mother, you & the toads are going to clean up dinner. And that _includes_ washing the dishes!" The frogs were about to protest, but quickly shut up when Katie & Amber yanked their ears. "Afterwards, I am gonna have a _serious_ talk with you three, if I come down here & you two are gone, you'll be _begging_ me to murder you!"

She turned to give the frog brothers a death glare that would've made David run for cover. " _Is. That. Clear_?"

They gulped before nodding & quickly moving to help Sam clean up when the girls let them go.

* * *

 ***Time skip, third person POV***

Lucy had told the girls that Max invited her to his house for dinner tomorrow night, they agreed to look after the boys for her so that she could focus all of her attention on her date (which she was VERY thankful for) they'd even made her laugh by telling her how Luna had terrorized them into cleaning up dinner so that she could go to bed.

They had gone downstairs after their talk with Lucy to find all three of the boys washing the dishes. Alan washed, Edgar rinsed and Sam dried them before putting them away.

"Good to see you boys are still here, would've been a pain in the ass to hunt you down." Luna chuckled darkly as the frog brothers quickly nodded.

Rose went around and ran her finger over every surface just to scare the boys, but was pleasantly surprised when it came back clean.

"Good, after you finish the dishes, I want everyone to meet me outside."

They nodded as she turned to walk out to the backyard.


	26. Council Meeting

***Third person POV***

The group was gathered in what Luna called a "tribal council" (meaning they all sat in a circle around a small fire)

"Ok Luna, what did you wanna talk to us about?" Luna turned to give Edgar a death glare.

 ***Luna's POV***

"I overheard your little _conversation_ earlier, give me one good reason why I shouldn't rip you apart ya little toad!"

The girls gave me confused looks as the boys lost all their color. "H-how much did you hear?" Sam asked with a look of fear & shame on his face.

"Enough to know that the so-called 'vampire hunters' here are planning on killing the boys as well as the head vampire."

 **"WHAT?!"** The girls growled before giving the terrified frog brothers murderous looks.

"H-hey look, w-we're just covering our bases! I-I mean, if we _do_ manage to kill the head, who's to say they won't come after us for it?! Ya can't blame us for wanting to protect ourselves!"

"Maybe not, but there's also a chance that they _won't_ come after you for it. Besides, you idiots aren't as vampire-savvy as you think you are!"

"And what makes you say that?!" Alan had to hold Edgar back when he stood up in anger.

"Vampire 101: inviting a vampire into your home renders you completely powerless against them. Michael invited Max in before he left, so vampire or not, your little tricks wouldn't've worked anyway!"

Everyone gave me looks of complete shock.

"You _knew_?! And you didn't tell us?! Why?!" I smirked at Edgar's angry tone. "I was _going_ to tell you, but then I heard your little plan, so I decided to let you find out the hard way." Sam flushed in embarrassment and the frogs hung their heads in shame before sitting down.

"Ok, is that the only reason you called us out here?"

"No, it's not." I reached into my coat and pulled out the book that coyote had given me.

"What the hell is that?!" I smirked at Edgar before opening the book.

"You guys claim to know your stuff when it comes to vampires, but until you've read this, you only know a _fraction_ of the truth!"

"Where'd you get that Luna?"

Rose & the girls were giving me confused looks as I started scanning the contents.

"Lets just say I met someone very important to me earlier today." Rose didn't seem to buy it, but it wasn't a complete lie, so she let it go. I stopped when I saw a chapter that I hadn't read yet (the book is almost as thick as the Webster's Dictionary, so cut me some slack!)

 **'Vampire/Human Relations: The Destined Mates'**

' _Interesting.'_

"Hey Luna, d-does it say anything about turning half-vampires human again?"

I gave Sam a strange look. "What do you mean Sam?"

"I-I mean, are there other ways to turn them human again besides killing the head vampire?"

I hadn't thought about that.

I quickly scanned through the list of chapters until I found the one I was looking for.

"Lucky for you Sam, there's an entire chapter devoted to information about halflings, so lets find out shall we?" I couldn't help but smile at the hopeful look on Sam's face, I just hope I can find something useful in here.

* * *

 ***Third person POV***

"Oh, that's interesting." Luna was surprised at what she found as she read through the chapter.

"What? What does it say?!" Sam asked with a questioning/hopeful look on his face.

"It says here that the head vampire can turn any halfling back to a full human by 'releasing' them from their blood bond." The frog brothers gave her annoyed looks while everyone else looked confused.

"I _highly_ doubt that the head vampire will be so nice. If he wanted Mike turned in the first place, then why would he release him?"

Unfortunately Edgar had a point.

"We don't know that yet, I want to make sure we have all our facts straight before we make any final decisions."

She needed to talk to Dwayne.

"The more time we waste, the more people die! You've got until the day after tomorrow, then we do it our way!" Edgar & Alan stood up before saying a final goodbye to Sam and taking off into the night.


	27. You Must Feed

**AN: I HAD to write Michael's POV because the feeding frenzy is my favorite scene in the entire movie & I've been waiting for a chance to write it! :)**

* * *

 ***Third person POV***

Michael had been searching the boardwalk for the past hour. Star had told him to meet her there, but he couldn't find a trace of her anywhere, and he'd searched almost every inch of the place!

Then he saw them.

The lost boys were hanging around by a railing near the entrance, but Star was nowhere in sight.

Maybe they'd done something to her.

He felt his anger flare up at the thought as he stormed over to them, shoving Paul & almost making him fall off the railing before grabbing David by the front of his coat.

 **"Where is she?"**

David chuckled darkly before blowing his cigarette smoke in his face. _"Take it easy Michael."_

"Where's Star? _David_?" Michael growled, not in the mood to play any of David's sick games.

"Michael, if you ever wanna see Star again, you'd better come with us _now_!" David pulled Michael's hands away before leading him & the boys to their bikes.

 ***Time skip, third person POV***

The boys pulled up somewhere along the edge of the beach, Michael could hear Run DMC's version of "Walk This Way" playing somewhere over the hill that they'd parked behind, so he figured that there must be a beach party going on.

Why would David bring him here?

He watched as the boys dismounted their bikes before running over to an old tree growing at the top of the hill & quickly climbing it's branches.

"Michael! Over here!" He looked up when he heard David calling him and saw that the others were laughing & fidgeting in excitement.

 _ **"You don't wanna miss this."**_ David chuckled & motioned for him to join them, Michael quickly got off his bike before running over to jump up into one of the lower branches, he looked down toward the sound of the music and saw a group of surf-nazis drunkenly singing & dancing around a bonfire, he looked up to see David's face hidden in the shadows.

"Initiation's over Michael, it's time to join the club!" He watched in complete shock & horror as David turned to face him.

He looked completely demonic.

His eyes were no longer a soul-piercing blue, instead they were now a bright reddish-yellow, his face was contorted & his teeth had lengthened into razor-sharp fangs. Michael looked around to see that the others had changed as well, and they all laughed at his terrified expression before taking off into the air & descending upon the unsuspecting surf-nazis.

It was a bloodbath.

Michael watched in horror as the boys ripped them apart, the screams of their victims filled the air, but were quickly drowned out by the loud music blasting through the speakers. The sickly-sweet coppery smell of the blood overwhelmed his senses as he heard the boys calling out to him, urging him to join the "fun". The sound of the racing heartbeats of their victims pounded in his ears as the hunger pains returned full-force, he vaguely felt his teeth elongating and figured that his eyes had changed as well.

He screamed in defiance before forcing himself to fall backwards out of the tree in an attempt to stop himself from joining them like he so desperately wanted to, sobbing in agony at the extreme sense of loss & longing that came with his decision. He rolled to the bottom of the hill & vaguely heard the music cut off before looking up to see the boys coming into view at the top of the hill.

They were _covered_ in blood.

"So, now you know what _we_ are, now you know what _you_ are! You'll never grow old Michael, and you'll never die. _**But you must feed**_ _!_ "

David wiped some of the blood from his lips and the boys laughed at Michael's pathetic whimpering as they mounted their bikes & rode off into the night.


	28. Two Of A Kind

**AN: rather than write out a crap-ton of switching POVs (because unfortunately there are a lot in this chapter, I'm still working on that -_-")** **I'm just gonna do line breaks, if you'd like me to change this let me know. Thank you & enjoy :)**

* * *

 ***Flashback***

 _"Remember baby, the alleyways are your friends."_

 _"I know_ edutsi _, I'll be careful."_

 **(Edutsi = Uncle)**

 _A fourteen year old Luna placed a reassuring hand on Draven's shoulder and nodded before heading out into the city. She'd learned a LOT during her three years with Draven & the underground (an old abandoned subway station that the NYC gangs had turned into a fight-club)_

 _Draven had become like an uncle to her during their time together, it turns out that he was actually half-African American & half-Cherokee Indian, much to Luna's amazement. He was also a champion kick-boxer at one point in time (he taught Luna everything he knew) but one of his opponents had been an extremely sore loser & pulled a knife on him after the fight, causing him to become permanently blind in his left eye & leaving him with a huge scar on his face._

 _She had also bonded with an old Japanese man named Mr. Li, who taught her aikido and how to play shogi._

 _She could never beat the old bastard though._

 _Luna shook her head to clear her thoughts & focus on her "mission". She moved quickly & calmly through the streets, only picking from the people that had more silk than skin. She'd gotten better at pickpocketing, so much so in fact that it was almost _too _easy anymore._

 _After picking off a man who was too busy talking on his $600 phone to notice, she decided to take a break for awhile and turned to walk down one of the many alleyways. Draven had shown her every escape route in the city, and the easiest ways to get to them, he'd even taught her how to use some "dead ends" to her advantage._

 _"Alright miss Luna, lets see how much we got this time." She whispered to herself before pulling out seven Italian leather-bound wallets, she pulled the cash out of them & even found an eight-ball of heroin hidden in one of them, she knew that Draven could sell it easily, so she hid it in an inside pocket in her jacket before gathering up the $300 she'd managed to snag & quickly dropping the cash-empty wallets off at the front door of the police station._

* * *

 ***Elsewhere***

' _I cant believe it's been almost three months now.'_

 _Rose thought to herself as she wandered the dimly-lit streets of NYC. Why she'd come_ here _of all places she didn't know, but anywhere was better than the hellhole she'd called home, so she wasn't gonna complain._

 _Except she hadn't eaten in two days, she needed money._

 _"Rose Mayweather!"_

 _She turned to see a cop approaching her._

'Shit!'

 _She quickly took off down the street, pushing & shoving people out of the way as she ran from the cops yet again. After she'd ran away, her parents had put out a missing persons report, they didn't really care about her, they just wanted their slave back._

 _How had they found her again?!_

 _"Rose! Stop right there! Your parents are worried sick about you!"_

 _That's the biggest lie she'd ever heard._

 _She quickly turned down an alleyway before jumping a wooden fence & running out into another street, she could hear the sirens getting closer as the car took another route to the street she was tearing through._

 _She couldn't go back, she'd let a semi run her over before she'd let that happen!_

* * *

 _Luna was heading back to the underground when she heard the sirens._

 _"What the hell?" Taking care not to be seen, she took a shortcut down an alleyway toward the source of the noise._

 _That's when she saw her._

 _A young girl with dark chocolate-brown hair & terrified blue eyes was running down the street as a police car drove behind her, she had tears streaming down her face and by the looks of her, she'd been on the streets for awhile now._

 _She was just like her._

 _Luna quickly moved through the maze of alleyways to where she knew she'd come out in front of the girl before pressing herself against a wall & waiting._

* * *

 _Rose quickly jumped over a garbage can before turning a corner, she'd put a bit of distance between herself & the cops, so she stopped to catch her breath, her chest was pounding & her legs felt like they were on fire._

 _She almost screamed when she was suddenly grabbed from behind & pulled into an alleyway._

 _"Shh! Be quiet! I'll help you get away, but you've gotta do_ exactly _what I say, got it?!"_

 _Since her mouth was covered, she quickly nodded in agreement._

 _"Good, now follow me!" The hand was taken off her mouth before she felt her hand being grabbed & quickly turned to follow her savior as she was pulled down the alleyway. The shadows made it nearly impossible to tell what her rescuer looked like, but judging by the voice, she determined that the person was female._

* * *

 _Luna pulled the girl along as she navigated through the many twists & turns that made up the alleyways of NYC, why exactly she was helping a random stranger she had absolutely no idea._

 _"Quick, this way!" She quickly pulled her down a smaller alleyway when she heard the sound of footsteps running after them down the narrow passageways._

 _The pathway opened up to reveal a dead end, with nothing but a dumpster & a few boxes stacked against the wall._

 _"We're trapped!"_

 _Luna smirked before pulling the girl towards the dumpster. "Not necessarily."_

 _She moved an old sheet that was on top of the boxes before pushing them aside to reveal a small gap between the dumpster & the wall, a small basement window was hidden behind the dumpster._

 _"Quickly, squeeze through there & go through the window, I'll be right behind you!" The girl didn't need to be told twice as she crawled through the gap and managed to maneuver through the window. Luna squeezed into the gap before pulling the boxes back into place & dropping down through the window._

 _"Shh!"_

 _She grabbed the girl before pulling her deeper into the shadows._

* * *

 _Rose had to admit, this girl was pretty crafty._

 _She listened as she heard the sound of heavy footsteps enter the alley they'd just been in._

 _"What the hell?!"_

 _She felt a hand go over her mouth as the sound of someone opening & closing the dumpster could be heard._

 _"Where the fuck could she have gone?!"_

 _She would've laughed if she could've, but was actually glad that she couldn't. Eventually she heard them move off, and when their footsteps could no longer be heard, she heard the girl sigh in relief before removing her hand._

 _"So...now what?" She got no answer as the girl grabbed her hand & moved to a door leading up into the building before knocking four times, a man with a giant red & black Mohawk answered before smiling at them._

 _"Back_ again _Luna? This is what, the fifth time this week?"_

 _"Yeah yeah yeah, are ya gonna let us out or not Jake?" He put up his hands in surrender._

 _"Alright girl, calm down! Hey, who's your friend?"_

 _"Don't know her name, just helped her escape the pigs."_

 _He laughed slightly before stepping aside and the girl, Luna, pulled her along up the stairs & out the door into the main building, which turned out to be a house. There was a small party going on and Rose could see a few pizzas laid out on a table as people stood around smoking things that - judging by the smell - were definitely NOT cigarettes!_

 _She finally got a good look at her rescuer and was slightly surprised to see that it was a girl her age, with long dark hair that almost reached the back of her knees & copper skin, which was a striking contrast to her eyes, which were bright-blue as a summer sky._

* * *

 ***Third person POV***

 _"Heeeey Luna! You headin' back anytime soon?"_

 _"Yeah, why?"_

 _One of Jake's friends, an old hippie named Storm, motioned to the pizza boxes._

 _"Why don't you & your friend grab a slice or two before you leave? There's plenty!"_

 _Luna turned when she heard the girl's stomach growl. "Hey, uh, I never got your name kid." She smiled when she saw the girl blush slightly._

 _"R-Rose."_

 _"Ok Rose, ya want some pizza? Hey Storm! Whatcha got?" The woman turned to look before smiling._

 _"Um...we've got plain cheese, pepperoni & supreme. Take your pick."_

 _"Which kind do you want Rose?"_

 _Rose hesitated before shyly answering. "P-pepperoni?"_

 _Luna looked at her in slight confusion. "You sound unsure kid, what's wrong?"_

 _"Uh, I-I've never actually...had...pizza before."_

 _"...What?"_

 _Rose blushed in embarrassment. "M-my parents never let me have it."_

 _"Oh we're changing that right now!" Luna pulled Rose over to the table before grabbing a paper plate & a slice of pepperoni, she handed it to Rose before grabbing her own._

 _"Go on, try it!" Rose nodded before hesitantly taking a bite._

 _It was_ amazing _!_

 _She took a few more bites of the delicious pizza before Luna handed her a bottle of coca-cola. "Please don't tell me you've never had coke before."_

 _She shook her head before swallowing her food. "I've had it before, just not very often."_

 _Luna gave an exaggerated sigh of relief before sitting down next to her & eating her own food. "So Rose, why were the cops chasin' ya?" _

_She paused, unsure wether or not she could trust Luna with the truth._

" _Whatever it is, I'm sure you had your reasons. I'm not gonna snitch on you."_

 _"...I-I ran away from my abusive parents, and now they won't quit hunting me till I'm eighteen and they have no authority over me anymore, and even then, I don't think they'll ever stop."_

 _Luna gave her a serious look. "Hm, well then, I guess we just have to make sure they don't find you."_

 _Rose looked at her in shock. "W-what? What do you mean?"_

 _"I_ mean _you can come with me Rose. I know Draven won't mind."_

 _Was she serious?_

 _"I-I don't wanna cause trouble for you and your family Luna!"_

 _Luna smiled before standing up & throwing away her trash. "Wait here a second." She walked out of the room before returning with a phone, dialing a number before holding it to her ear, and after about twenty minutes of talking with whoever was on the other end of the line, she turned to Rose with a smile._

 _"It's official, you're gonna come stay with me."_


	29. Destined Mates & A Cry For Help

**AN: I just wanna give a quick shoutout to Haylz93 & MissRuthless for the awesome reviews! And also thank you to everyone who favorited/followed this story so far! Hope you enjoy :)**

* * *

 ***Luna's POV***

I was in Michael's room reading the book coyote gave me, he wasn't home yet, so I was just using it as a place to read quietly until he returned.

I was studying the chapter titled **'Vampire/Human Relations: The Destined Mates'** and paused when I came to the "symptoms" of being/finding the destined mate of a vampire.

 _*Until a vampire finds their mate, they will dream of them & ONLY them during day-sleep, and if they encounter their mate, they will recognize them instantly. One of the most common symptoms a vampire may experience is an overwhelming possessiveness, and will attack & kill anything or any_one _that they see as a threat to their mate. Other symptoms they may have include aggression toward any & all "competition", and an overwhelming desire to turn/claim their mate.*_

Apparently humans have side effects too, as explained in the next segment of the book.

 _*If a human is the destined mate of a vampire, they will usually have a very hard time forming romantic relationships with another human.*_

To be honest, i've never really felt attraction to anyone, even as a so-called 'hormonal teenager' I always considered the drama caused by relationships - romantic or physical - to be completely pointless & a total waste of time, plus my semi-nomadic lifestyle didn't really leave room for things like that.

I shook my head to clear my thoughts before continuing on.

 _*If said-human encounters or comes within close proximity to their vampire mate, they will usually feel a very strong connection with them instantaneously (though sometimes this is not the case) some have even reported experiencing a tugging sensation in their chest*_

' _Wait...what?'_

I stopped and thought about it for a moment, when we first arrived in Santa Carla, I felt a tugging sensation in my chest, and it only got stronger when I was around Dwayne. Now that I think about it, I _did_ feel a strange connection to him before I even knew his name.

' _So...I'm his mate?'_

But wait, I remember how quickly Katie & Paul seemed to click as soon as they met, Marko seemed anxious when Amber wasn't with us the night we drank from the bottle, and I've never seen Rose smile or laugh as much as she does when she's with David.

' _Oh. My. God! I've gotta tell the girls! They'll go nuts!'_

I was pulled from my musings when I heard Sam let out a yell, but thanks to my newly-heightened senses, I heard him say something about wishing his grandpa would 'stop giving him these stupid things'.

I guess he gave him another stuffed animal.

I was about to just go back to reading when I heard him yell again, but this time I heard Michael's voice on the other side of the wall and heard Sam say something about helping him turn human again.

Then I heard a voice that made my blood boil.

' _Why is that fucking bitch here?!'_

I growled when I heard her say how she had to talk to Michael and shot to my feet when I heard Sam yell that she was "one of them".

' _Oh HELL no!'_

 ***Third person POV***

Luna yanked open the door to see the rest of the girls rushing up the stairs, she ran ahead of them & threw open Sam's bedroom door before (unknowingly) using her vampire-speed to rush over & grab Star by the throat, lifting her off the ground and hearing the girls fighting to hold Michael back as she fixed her with a deadly glare.

"You've got a _lot_ of nerve showing up here you selfish bitch! _You're_ the one that got the Emersons mixed up in all this bullshit in the first place! And all because you're too much of a fucking _coward_ to do things yourself!"

She dropped Star before crouching down & pinning her to the floor by her neck, she vaguely felt her features change & leaned in so that Star was forced to look straight into her - now yellow - eyes.

"I'm gonna let you up & give you a chance to talk, but you'd better have a _DAMN_ good reason for coming here or else I'll rip your fucking throat out and shove it up your ass! _Is. That. Clear_?!" She growled before letting go of her & stepping back. Star managed to get to her feet while clutching her now-bruised throat and Luna nodded for the girls to let Michael go. He checked to make sure that Star was alright before saying his piece.

* * *

 ***Luna's POV***

"You _know_ where David took me tonight don't you Star?"

I briefly wondered what he was talking about, but shook it off as Star finally managed to get enough oxygen to speak. "Y-yes. It's my fault, if you hadn't met me, if I hadn't liked you...I tried to warn you but-"

"It was that night in the cave wasn't it? That wasn't wine they gave us to drink, it was blood. It was David's blood."

' _No shit Sherlock.'_

"You drank someone's blood?! Are you _crazy_?!" I shot Sam a look & he shut up immediately.

"Well I'm just like David now Star!"

"No you're not! You're like Laddie & me, you're not one of them-"

"Until you make your first kill!" Sam & I said at the same time, I looked back to see the girls listening closely and decided to lean against the wall as the drama continued.

"Why didn't you kill me last night?"

' _So he DID fuck the bitch! EW!'_ I lightly gagged before quickly composing myself.

"You were supposed to be my first, it's what _David_ wanted. But I couldn't do it Michael."

"Why? Because you care so much about me?" I smirked at the sarcasm lacing his tone.

"Yes I do!" I rolled my eyes as she put a hand to Michael's face. He quickly yanked her hand away from him before giving her a serious look.

"What're you doing here? What do you want from me?!"

I saw tears gathering in her eyes and couldn't help but feel the _tiniest_ bit of pity for her. She doesn't want to kill people, and I get that, but she's putting innocent people in danger because she's too cowardly to fight her own battles, and that's something I will _not_ tolerate!

"I wanted to tell you that it's not too late for you, but for me it gets harder & harder to resist. I'm weak."

' _No shit.'_

Michael roughly grabbed her by the shoulders before giving her an angry look. _"Why did you come here tonight Star?!"_

"I was hoping you'd help Laddie & me."

Michael let out a disbelieving laugh and the girls had to hold me back from ripping her apart as she flew out the window.

"STAR!" We all ran to the window only to find her already gone.

"DON'T KILL ANYBODY UNTIL WE GET BACK TO YOU!" I turned as Sam ran to the telephone & picked up a comic book.

"What're you doing?"

"I've got connections!"


	30. Guidance From The Old One

***Luna's POV***

I tried talking Sam out of calling the toads, but he was too stubborn, and they were planning on going to the cave in the morning.

I walked out into the backyard & closed my eyes before doing something I haven't done in a long time: I was going to seek help from the spirits, but to do that I had to leave my physical body, so using the teachings of White Crow, I let myself fall into a deep trance-like state before saying what was needed.

" _Ma'heo'o_ , please give me your guidance. My loved ones are in danger, and I don't know how to protect them."

I felt the wind gently swirling around me before standing up & opening my eyes. When I turned to look behind me, I saw my physical body sitting in it's meditative state, so I turned to walk the other way. It was only a few short minutes before the physical realm began to fade away and I found myself walking through a heavy mist, but I didn't fear it because I had seen all of this before. After a short time of just walking blindly through the mist, it slowly began to clear up, and I could see the outline of a sweat lodge a little ways ahead of me.

' _That's where I need to go.'_

I made my way towards it & cautiously stepped through the entrance to find an elder waiting for me by the fire. I could feel the ancient & powerful energy passing over me in waves as he finally acknowledged my presence with a gentle smile.

 _"Galutsv uwola gvdodi ayv, nvdo ayoli."_

 **(Come sit with me, moon child.)**

I bowed my head in greeting before walking over to sit across from him as he handed me the peace pipe. I took a long drag off of it before politely passing it back to him.

"Now, you said that you need our guidance, so tell me why that is."

I knew that he already knew the answer, but I had to put it in my own words. "My sisters & I have arrived in a new town, and it turns out that there is a group of vampires living there. They have become like brothers to me, except for one. Thanks to _Wayaha_ I now know that my sisters & I are their destined mates."

 **(Wayaha = Coyote)**

I paused when he gave me a knowing look. "There's more that you're not telling me child. It's not just the sons of Jumlin that have become important to you." He stated matter-of-factly, and I sighed before continuing.

"You're right, there's also the Emerson family. Lucy is like the mother I never had, John is quickly becoming like a grandfather to me, and Michael & Sam are like my _usdi anadanvtli_."

 **(Little brothers)**

"You have the protective spirit of a mother bear defending her cubs, because you have lost people who are dear to you, the people that you have are sacred to you." I nodded and watched as he took another drag off the peace pipe before handing it to me. "You want to protect the ones you love, and yet you also want to help your _dinadanvtli_ become _yvwi_ again."

 **(dinadanvtli = brother, yvwi = human)**

I took a drag & nodded before handing it back to him. "Coyote said the same thing before giving me the _goweli_."

 **(book)**

"Then why do you ask for guidance if _Wayaha_ gave you the answers?"

 **(Coyote)**

"Because the book can't help me right now. There are 'hunters' that seek to destroy my _unaligohi_ & his _anadanvtli_ , and I need to know how to stop this from happening."

 **(unaligohi = mate, anadanvtli = brothers)**

He gave me a serious look before motioning for me to come closer. I hesitantly moved to sit next to him before he put his hand on my shoulder.

"The only way to protect your new family is to go straight to them. I leave you with this final warning _Nvdo_ _Ayoli_ : **If four are to live, one must die**."

I felt my heart stop before everything went black.


	31. Fate Can Be A Cruel Mistress

**AN: I apologize for the ridiculous amount of time skips in this chapter, but trying to use line breaks just made it look choppy -_-"**

* * *

 ***Flashback***

 _"Mommy?"_

 _A five year old Katie walked into the living room to find her mother in her usual state; slobbering drunk, surrounded by empty beer cans and cutting up the "white rocks" that Katie had seen her buy from the dirty man that smelled like rotten fish._

 _"What do you want?!" Her mother growled without even looking at her._

 _"C-can I have some juice?"_

 _Her mom snorted some of the white powder before turning to face her. "Why ya askin' me? Get it yourself!"_

 _"B-but-"_

 _"I said get it yourself ya stupid little cunt!" She yelled before throwing an empty beer can at her, missing her by a mile and smashing against the living room wall. Katie squeaked in fright before escaping into the kitchen. She had realized long ago that whatever she needed in this world, she'd have to get herself. In fact the only reason she asked her mom for anything anymore was because she hoped that if she just kept trying, her mom would eventually start to care about her._

 _Unfortunately, that was never going to happen._

 ***Three weeks later***

 _"Mommy?"_

 _Katie had woken up when she heard a loud crash coming from the living room and cautiously tiptoed down the hallway._

 _"Mommy? Are you ok?"_

 _She peeked around the corner to see her mother laying face-down on the floor, one of her beer cans was spilling out onto the floor and the coffee-table was knocked over on it's side. Katie had seen her mom fall down & pass out before, but something didn't feel right this time. She hesitantly walked over before gently shaking her mother's shoulder._

 _"Mommy? Mommy wake up, you fell asleep on the floor again." She tried waking her up for five straight minutes before grabbing the phone and dialing 911 like the teacher at school had said to do in an emergency._

 _"911, what's your emergency?"_

 _"My mommy won't wake up."_

 ***Three days later***

 _Katie watched as they lowered her mother's coffin into the ground, she didn't cry, there really wasn't any reason to, for her mother had never really cared about her anyway._

 _"It'll be ok sweetie." She looked up at the nice lady that had come to get her when she'd been made to wait at the police station. She heard footsteps and looked up when a police officer walked over to them._

 _"Any luck?"_

 _"No. Apparently the father left when he found out about the pregnancy and no one has seen him since."_

 _The social worker sighed before nodding and giving Katie an apologetic look. "Ok, I understand."_

* * *

 ***Two years later, elsewhere***

 _It was raining._

 _A seven year old Amber quietly played with her teddy bear as her parents argued in the front seat of the car. She couldn't really understand what they were fighting about, but she_ did _understand that it was stupid & pointless. She sighed before turning to look out the window, the rain was coming down so hard that she could barely see anything._

 _"TIM! LOOK OUT!"_

 _She quickly turned to see a pair of bright headlights coming right at them. She heard the screech of the tires & felt the car lurch to the side before everything went black._

 ***Time skip***

 _How long had she been walking?_

 _She didn't even know anymore. Amber had managed to crawl out of the wreckage, but had lost her shoes in the process before deciding to try and find help._

 _Clutching her blood-stained teddy bear to her chest, she kept walking down the side of the flooded street. She felt like she was trying to walk through a waterfall as the rain beat down on her every step of the way. Eventually she looked up to see if she could spot any cars coming down the road, and saw a light a little ways ahead of her before moving towards it._

 _It wasn't a headlight, it was a barn._

 _Hoping to get out of the rain for awhile, Amber quickened her pace before finally reaching it and somehow managing to open the door. She pulled the door closed and shivered at the sudden change in temperature as she took in her surroundings; the barn was well-lit, and she could see a few horses giving her curious looks from their stalls as she walked into the center of it before finally collapsing in the hay._

 _She was still shivering and looked down at her feet to see them cut up and covered in blood from walking so much, but she couldn't feel any pain, so she didn't consider it a huge problem._

 _One of the horses cautiously walked over to her and she looked up into his eyes before hesitantly reaching up to touch his muzzle._

 _"H-hi, s-s-sorry to e-enter your b-barn with-without perm-mission, I-I just w-wanted to g-get out of t-the rain." She was shivering so badly that she could barely speak. The stallion perked his ears up and leaned down to sniff her before turning to nicker at something._

 _A female tri-colored rough collie came trotting out of the shadows before giving Amber a curious look. The horse nickered at her and she cautiously walked over before sniffing at Amber's feet. She giggled when the dog started licking them as the stallion moved to lay down behind her, he was so warm that she felt herself snuggle into his side before falling asleep as the animals silently watched over her._

* * *

 _When the farmer entered his barn that morning, he never expected to find a little girl sleeping next to his lead stallion, or to have his trusted sheep dog lightly growl at him as he walked in, but that's exactly what he found._

 _He quickly went to get his wife, who almost had a heart-attack when she saw the situation in the barn._

 _The animals refused to let them come near their charge as she peacefully slept beside them, but the stallion knew that she had to wake up, so he lightly nudged her awake, and she yawned before remembering what had happened the night before._

 _Amber sat up and turned when she heard a dog growling, only to find a rather confused old couple staring at her._

 _"Oh! H-hi, I'm sorry, I just wanted to get out of the rain last night, I didn't mean to fall asleep in your barn."_

 _Realizing that there was no threat to her charge, the dog relaxed and moved to lay down before putting her fluffy head in Amber's lap._

 _"You've been here the whole night?!" Amber blushed in embarrassment and lightly nodded._

 _"What's your name sweetie?"_

 _"A-Amber."_

 _The old woman smiled kindly at her as her husband went to call the police and tell them about the kid hiding in his barn._

 ***Time skip***

 _It turns out that Amber had somehow managed to walk three miles away from the crash site. The only reason she hadn't felt the pain from the cuts on her feet was because she'd been in a state of shock the entire time._

 _She felt the pain now, but it was only a dull ache. Though it did sting a little when she walked._

 _Amber was patiently sitting in a doctor's office while she waited for the cops to call social services, her feet were wrapped up in gauze & she was wearing special padded socks so it didn't hurt too much to walk. She couldn't really remember much from the accident, and she _barely _remembered making it to the barn and falling asleep, but she didn't care about that as much as the fact that she was all alone._

 _What was going to happen to her now?_

 ***Two days later***

 _Amber was sitting under a tree eating lunch in the backyard of the orphanage while the other kids played basketball on the small court. She looked up when she heard something land in the branch above her head and saw a little blue jay staring down at her._

 _"Hi! You want some?" She asked as she pulled the crust off her sandwich and tore it into small pieces before holding her hand out. The bird hopped side to side for a bit before jumping down & perching in her hand. Amber smiled as she watched her new friend eat from her hand. For some reason, she seemed to make friends with animals more than people, but she didn't mind._

 _"Wow! That's so cool!" She looked up to see a girl about her age staring in awe at the bird eating from her hand._

 _"Th-thanks."_

 _Amber studied the girl in front of her, she had dirty-blonde hair that fell a little past her shoulder blades and her hazel eyes were wide & bright, she was wearing a black t-shirt, blue jeans with holes in the knees and beat up black & white sneakers. In Amber's eyes, she looked like one of the "cool kids"._

 _"How did you get it to eat from your hand?"_

 _"I-I just put some bread in my hand & he came to me."_

 _The girl smiled at her before carefully sitting across from her, so she didn't scare the bird away._

 _"What's your name kid?"_

 _"A-Amber."_

 _The blue jay finished the last piece of bread crust before taking off into the sky._

 _"I'm Katie. It's nice to meet you Amber!" She held out her hand and Amber smiled before reaching out to shake her hand._

 _"Nice to meet you."_


	32. If Four Are To Live, One Must Die

***Luna's POV***

It was the next day, and the girls & I had tried talking the boys out of going to the cave, but to no avail.

Edgar had apparently changed his mind about believing in my visions - which pissed me off to no end - and had decided to just go to the cave, get Star & Laddie out, take out as many of the "bloodsuckers" as possible, and hope that one of them is actually the head vampire.

I had explained to the girls that we were going to go with them to the cave and play along like we want to help them with their plan, but we'll make sure that they don't touch Laddie & the boys, I could care less about Star.

I was very nervous about this, the elder's warning kept playing over & over in my head like a mantra.

' _ **If four are to live, one must die.'**_

I shuddered & quickly shook my head to clear my thoughts before reluctantly following everyone to John's car.

"Oh no you don't Michael! You're in _no_ shape to drive! Move over!" I smiled when Katie shoved Michael out of the driver's seat and got behind the wheel. Somehow we all managed to cram in the vehicle and Sam yelled to his grandfather as we drove off toward Hudson's Bluff.

That's another thing that confuses me, we're half-vampires just like Michael, and yet we weren't in _nearly_ as rough shape as he was! Sure, we were extremely exhausted during the day, and we'd all experienced the "hunger pains" at one point or another (I felt them last night after speaking with the elder, it REALLY sucked!) but Michael looked like a fucking zombie.

' _Maybe it's different between men & women...'_

I was pulled from my musings when I felt the car stop and looked up to find that we were already there. We all piled out of the car and I motioned for the girls to gather around while the toads did a "weapons check" and Michael talked to Sam.

"So what's the plan Luna?"

"I'm not sure yet, we'll have to make it up as we go along, just like we always do."

Rose gave me a nervous look. "What if something goes wrong?" I didn't have time to answer because the boys started calling for us.

"Listen! Just so you know, if any of you try to stop us or vamp out in any way, then I'll stake you without even thinking twice about it!"

"Chill out Edgar." Sam said and I rolled my eyes as they turned to run down the wooden stairs that led to the Lost Cave.

"Where'd you say you met these guys?"

I tuned out the rest of the conversation in favor of following after the toads. I didn't wanna leave them alone for too long. We followed them into the cave and I couldn't help but smirk at their reaction.

"Holy shit!"

"Vampire hotel!"

I watched as they ran over to one of the beds near the wall and almost laughed when I saw Star laying there dead to the world.

"Here's one! C'mon, lets stake her man!"

"DON'T YOU TOUCH HER! YOU STAY AWAY FROM HER!"

"No no, by all means, go right ahead."

Michael gave me a venomous glare and Sam gave me a disapproving look. "That's not funny Luna!"

"Ok ok, sheesh! I'm just kidding!"

' _Not.'_

Edgar said something about vampires having rotten tempers before him & Alan ran off to look around the cave. I turned to see Michael trying to wake up Star.

"I'm taking you outta here."

"No, take Laddie first. Please." She mumbled tiredly and I saw the poor kid sleeping on one of the couches.

"Michael, you take Star, we'll get Laddie & follow you up." He hesitated before nodding and using his jacket to cover Star's face before just barely managing to lift her in his arms and disappearing through the entrance.

"We're not really taking him, are we?"

"Hell no! Listen, the sunlight is making all of us weaker, but Michael's half dead. Star's bigger than Laddie, so carrying her will be _exhausting_ , if I'm right, then he'll pass out once he gets her in the car."

Rose laughed slightly and I smiled as I walked over to pick up Laddie (who was heavier than he looked) and moved him over to the bed, the poor kid shouldn't have to sleep on a couch while the bitch gets the only bed!

"Uh...guys?"

"What Katie?"

"Where's Amber?"

* * *

 ***Third person POV***

Michael slowly managed to walk up the wooden stairs while carrying Star in his arms. Just being in the sun at all made him tired, so you can imagine how exhausted he was from carrying a full-grown woman in his arms while walking in the blinding sunlight.

He finally made it to the top of the bluff and sluggishly walked over to the car before gently placing her in the backseat.

The girls would get Laddie, just a few minutes of rest couldn't hurt.

Michael thought before collapsing next to Star, he was dead to the world within seconds while the sun blazed high in the sky.

 ***Luna's POV***

I was about to panic. We were looking around the cave, desperately trying to find Amber, but I couldn't see her anywhere.

But that's not what worried me.

What worried me was the fact that I also didn't see Sam or the toads anywhere in the cave.

" _ **Luna."**_

I froze when I heard the voice of coyote and slowly turned around before spotting him by the giant Jim Morrison poster, and I noticed that his eyes were blazing-red this time.

' _That can't be good.'_

" _ **Luna, you need to hurry, before it's too late!"**_

I didn't have time to ask what he meant before having another vision, but this was more like an out-of-body experience.

 ***Luna's vision***

 **I saw the Jim Morrison poster disappear to reveal a hidden passage behind it.**

 **Suddenly, everything was moving in fast motion as my vision moved down the dark & narrow passageway, turning corners so fast that I almost couldn't keep up with what was going on. Then everything suddenly went slow-mo and I saw Amber following a ways behind Sam & the frog brothers, who didn't seem to notice her as they slowly made their way through the tunnel.**

 **"Ahh! Flies!"**

 **"We're on the right trail! Flies & the undead go together like bullets & guns!"**

 **Everything suddenly moved in fast motion again before stopping at a dead-end.**

 **Then I looked up.**

 **I gasped when I saw the boys sleeping while hanging upside down from a metal bar in the ceiling.**

" _ **Hurry Luna!"**_

 ***End of vision, Luna's POV***

I snapped back to reality before yelling for Rose & Katie to follow me as I made my way to the giant poster.

* * *

 ***Amber's POV***

I had followed Sam & the frog brothers when they'd found a hidden passage, I know I probably should've warned the girls, but they were busy distracting Michael.

I batted flies away from me as I tried to catch up to the boys. They didn't know I was following them, and I didn't want to yell because it might cause a cave-in. Kinda stupid I know, but something was telling me that I needed to stay quiet. I slowed down when I heard voices up ahead.

"C'mon!" I heard Edgar yell before hearing a loud thud.

"It's freezing in here!" Sam said before I heard him yelp in surprise.

"C'mon guys, looks like a dead-end! Lets head back huh?!"

"They must've hidden their coffins around here someplace!" Edgar yelled and I finally saw the light from their flashlights moving around up ahead.

"There's nothin' here! Lets go guys!"

" _JESUS_!"

"AHHHH!" I moved a bit faster when I heard them screaming in fright.

"I thought they were supposed to be in coffins?!"

"That's what this cave is! It's one giant coffin!" I finally came to the end of the tunnel and stopped before seeing them all looking up.

I followed their gaze & froze when I saw the lost boys hanging upside down from the ceiling.

"Right now they're at their most vulnerable, easy pickings!" I turned and saw Edgar making his way up a ladder.

"Remember, you just have to kill the leader!"

"We don't know which one the leader is! I guess we'll just have to kill 'em all."

"We'll start with the little one. First come, first staked!"

Edgar was about to stake Marko!

 **"NO!"** I screamed before lunging at him, pulling him off the ladder and sending us crashing to the ground.

I screamed when I felt the most god-awful pain I'd ever felt in my life.

 ***Luna's POV***

I heard the girls telling me to slow down as I made my way through the tunnel, but ignored them when I heard voices up ahead and picked up the pace.

"We'll start with the little one. First come, first staked!"

' _They found the boys!'_

 **"NO!"**

I finally made it to the end of the cave and felt my blood turn to ice when I saw Amber pulling Edgar off a ladder, they crashed to the ground and I froze when I heard her scream.

The stake that Edgar had been holding had pierced through her chest when they hit the ground.

' _Oh god, no!'_

 **"AMBER!"** Katie screamed and we all jumped down before running to our sister. I heard Sam & the frog brothers screaming in terror, along with what sounded like a pack of demons.

It was the same sound from my vision.

It was coming true.

I looked up to see all of the boys wide-awake and completely vamped out.

 **"YOU'RE DEAD MEAT!"** David roared and I quickly grabbed Sam by the front of the shirt before throwing him up into the passageway.

 **"GO!"** He didn't need to be told twice and I didn't even stop to help the toads before running over to my sisters as David chased the boys down the tunnel.

Katie was holding Amber in her arms and I saw tears running down her face. I felt my own tears overflowing as I watched Amber gasping and crying in agony.

"Amber! Amber! Honey, look at me!" Katie was forcing Amber to look her in the eye while Rose & I held her hands, as if we could keep her with us if we held on tight enough.

Amber had tears flowing down her face and I felt the rest of the lost boys drop down behind us.

"AMBER!" Marko tried running over to us, but Katie vamped-out & tried to snap at him when he got too close. Paul moved over to her before gently placing a hand on her shoulder.

"Katie, it's ok, we just wanna help her." She whimpered before her features went back to normal and she let Marko come closer, he quickly rushed over before gently cupping Amber's face in his hands.

"Amber, listen to me, you're gonna be ok, I promise!" He didn't sound too convinced and I saw Amber weakly reach up to place her hand over his.

"She needs blood." I turned to see David re-enter the cave while holding a hand behind his back. "Luckily it missed her heart, but she won't last much longer if she doesn't turn."

"Will our blood work?" David looked at me for a minute before nodding.

"You're still half human, so yes, you're blood will work. But it'll also cause her to fully turn, so in a sense, she'll die."

' _ **If four are to live, one must die.'**_

I nodded and David turned to Marko. "Pull it out."

Katie held Amber tightly, and I watched as Paul & Dwayne moved to hold her arms down while David pulled Rose to him.

"I'm sorry baby." Marko apologized before quickly yanking the stake from her chest. She let out the most god-awful scream I'd ever heard and I didn't hesitate before using my now-sharp fingernail to cut open my arm and pressing it to her lips.

I watched her eyes turn a flaming orange color and her teeth turn into fangs before she roughly latched onto my arm. I hissed in pain as her fangs sunk into my flesh, but I paid it no mind. If it meant saving my sister, I'd walk barefoot into hell.

I started to feel tired and vaguely heard someone tell Amber to stop before feeling her fangs leave my arm as everything went black.


	33. What Do I Do Now?

***Katie's POV***

After Luna passed out, the boys had led us deeper into the cave. Apparently a lot of the old hotel rooms were still intact.

Marko & Dwayne had disappeared with Amber & Luna (Marko had to pull her from my arms, but only succeeded in doing so after Paul convinced me to let her go) while Rose had gone to retrieve Laddie from the main room. We didn't wanna leave him alone just in case those little freaks decided to come back.

Paul led me down one of the tunnels before opening a door to reveal a room that obviously belonged to him. There were posters of different rock bands all over the walls (Motley Crüe and Skid Row seemed to be the most popular) the bed had dark blue covers on it, and I even spotted a cordless Lava Lamp sitting on the old bedside table. It was awesome, but I couldn't fully enjoy it due to what happened not ten minutes ago.

I looked down at myself and almost broke down in tears when I saw that I was still covered with Amber's blood. I felt a few tears escape me when I saw it staining my hands red.

I looked up when Paul put his arms around me and saw him giving me a sympathetic look. "Hey, it's over, it's done with, and nobody got killed. Amber's still alive, that's all that matters."

I sighed and nodded in understanding. He dried my tears before leaning down to kiss my forehead. I blushed and saw him smile before pulling out a joint.

"You just read my mind."

 ***Rose's POV***

Dwayne came out of the room that he'd carried Luna into and I handed Laddie off to him before following David further down the tunnel. He opened one of the doors and I smiled slightly when I saw the inside. There were a few posters of The Doors and Guns n Roses on the walls, random trinkets (seashells, coins, colorful bottles etc.) hung decoratively from the ceiling and the bed had black covers on it.

"Hey, you ok?"

I sighed before turning to look at him. "I knew those little bastards were gonna try to kill you. I should've been watching them! Maybe if I had, then-"

"Don't! There's _no_ way you could've known that this would happen! It's not your fault Rose, _none_ of it is." He pulled me into his arms and I buried my face in his chest so that he wouldn't see the tears forming in my eyes.

"I know, but-"

"Listen, what's done is done. Everyone's alive, that's all that matters." I nodded reluctantly before noticing that his hand was charred.

"David, what the fuck happened to your hand?!" He tried hiding it behind his back, but I quickly grabbed his wrist while being mindful of the burns and lifted it up to inspect it.

"I had the Emerson kid by the ankle, but the frogs managed to pull him into the sunlight."

I sighed before giving him a concerned look. "Sam was only following the frog brothers. He didn't do anything wrong, so please promise me that you won't hurt him." He hesitated before sighing and placing his uninjured hand to my cheek. "I promise."

I nodded before looking at his burns again. "Do you need blood?"

"No, it'll heal up by tonight, so don't worry about it."

* * *

 ***Luna's dream***

 _I'm in a trailer._

 _I looked around and saw a tiny kitchen with a small table, and two chairs set up in the center of the room. The floor was made of black & white tiles (like a checkerboard) and when I turned to the left & walked three steps, I was in the small living room. I looked down to see a worn-out light brown carpet covering the living room floor and leading down a narrow hallway. A small tv sat against the wall across the room, and a battered old brown leather couch lay against the left wall with a crocheted red, white and black afghan draped over the back of it._

'Wait...I know this place...'

 _I slowly walked down the hallway and opened the first door on the right to find a small bathroom with plain white tile flooring. I closed the door and moved down to the next doorway on the left, before stopping dead in my tracks when I opened the door to find what was obviously a child's room._

 _A small twin bed lay against the far wall, a beautiful silver & black dream catcher with a small white wolf statue inside of it hung over the bed, there was a small brown wooden dresser against the far right wall and a few child's toys were scattered across the old dark blue carpet._

' _I know this room...it's_ my _room.'_

 _I slowly backed away and closed the door before turning to face the end of the hallway. A lone door with a tribal blanket hanging on it stood there waiting for me._

 _My father's room._

 _I managed to steel my nerves before walking towards the door, dreading what I would find waiting on the other side. I breathed before reaching out and opening the door._

 _It was exactly how I remembered it._

 _The floor was covered with a dark gray carpet, a small dark oakwood dresser lay against the left wall with a few old pictures set on top of it, and a queen sized bed lay against the far wall next to a small window. A deerskin blanket covered the bed while a black & gold dream catcher with a dark gray wolf statue inside of it hung from the ceiling._

 _I walked over to examine the pictures on top of the dresser and smiled at the memories they contained; My fifth birthday party, me sitting on my father's shoulders, White Crow sitting by a campfire telling stories to me & the other children, and finally a picture of my father holding me on his hip when I was six years old._

 _"I'm surprised you remember this place so well."_

 _I jumped in surprise and spun around to find my father sitting on the bed._

 _"_ Edoda _? What're you doing here?!" He chuckled before walking over to me and pulling me into his arms. I felt happy tears building up in my eyes as I hugged him back._

 _"I know of what happened with Amber today Luna."_

 _I looked up at him and he gave me a sympathetic look. "I also know how torn up you are about this whole situation. Sit down, tell me what troubles you about all this, I know that you have no problem with the idea of turning into a vampire, so what is it that bothers you_ usdiga _?"_

 **(Usdiga = Baby)**

 _I sat down with him and told him everything; from Dwayne being my_ unaligohi, _to Michael being a half-vampire and wanting to help him turn human again. He quietly listened as I went on & on about the little _walosi _turning the whole situation into a total clusterfuck, and about Star being the stupid bitch that got Michael involved in the first place._

 **(unaligohi = mate, walosi = toads)**

 _"Hmm, I find it slightly ironic that you have a strong dislike towards_ Noquisi _,_ Nvdo _."_

 **(Noquisi = Star, Nvdo = Moon)**

 _"_ Edoda _! Be serious will ya?!" He chuckled and put his hands up in surrender. "Alright, alright! Calm down_ usdiga _, I'm just messing with you."_

 _I pouted and crossed my arms in annoyance, but couldn't help but smile & shake my head at my father's ridiculous sense of humor._

 _"So, you want to help Michael become human again, do you have any idea about how to do so?"_

 _I sighed before turning to him. "Well, I know that if you manage to kill the head vampire, then ALL half-vampires will turn human again. The book that_ Wayaha _gave me says that the head vampire can also release any half-vampires from the blood bond, but I don't know who the head vampire is."_

 **(Wayaha = Coyote)**

 _"Yes you do, you just have a hard time believing it." He gave me a knowing smile and I sighed in annoyance._

 _"It's Max isn't it?"_

 _"What do you think?"_

 _I laughed slightly before turning to face him. "Ok, what do you think I should do_ edoda _?"_

 _He gave me a soft smile. "Well, he seems to accept you. You're protective of his mate, so perhaps YOU could talk to him."_

 _"Do you really think he'd listen to me?"_

 _"You've always been a reasonable person Luna, give it a try at least, and if it doesn't work out, you're a smart girl, I'm sure you'll figure out something."_

 _I sighed and nodded in understanding before he pulled me into his arms. "Don't turn just yet, your_ Sidanelvhi _is still in danger, and if you turn now, someone may end up dead."_

 **(Sidanelvhi = family)**

 _I froze when I heard the sound of people fighting before a gunshot rang out & I heard a piercing scream of pain._

 _The same sound from one of my visions._

"Gvgeyuhi. Heyatahesdi usdiga, stiyu."

 **(I love you. Be careful baby, be strong.)**

 _That was the last thing I heard before everything went black._


	34. Promises Kept

**AN: this whole chapter is complete & total fluff, but I hope it's not too cheesy! Lol**

* * *

 ***Amber's POV***

' _God I feel like shit!'_

' _My chest hurts and my head is pounding, I can't sleep anymore!'_

I slowly opened my eyes and saw only darkness, a small orange cordless lava lamp the only source of limited light in the room.

' _Where the hell am I?'_

I moved to get up, only to find that I couldn't due to a pair of arms wrapped around my waist. I turned to look behind me and felt my face get hot when I came face to face with a sleeping Marko, he was devoid of his jacket & wife beater, leaving his chest completely bare.

Not that I was complaining.

He wasn't overly built, but I could tell he was stronger than he looked. I studied his face as he slept and almost cried when I saw tear-tracks on his face. I reached up and started drying his tears, he sighed before slowly opening his eyes and was wide-awake as soon as he saw me.

"Hey stranger." I said quietly and he smiled before reaching up to place his hand over mine.

"Hi back."

I smiled as he turned to kiss my palm before pulling me into his arms. I hugged him back and he pulled away to look me in the eye. "How do you feel?"

I sighed before giving him a teasing smile. "Like shit. My chest still hurts like a bitch, my head is killing me, and I'm currently being suffocated to death by a clingy shirtless vampire. Not that I'm complaining, at least it's a nice view."

He laughed and loosened his grip, allowing me to breath again. I dramatically took a huge breath & sighed in relief before laughing along with him.

He finally calmed down and put his forehead to mine before cupping my face in his hands & giving me a serious look. "Don't you _ever_ do that again! You scared the shit out of me! Don't ever put your life at risk again Amber, _especially_ not to save mine!"

"What was I supposed to do? Let them kill you?! They were about to stake you Marko!"

"I don't care! Amber, promise me that you'll never put yourself at risk for me again, I'd lay myself out in the sun if I ever lost you!"

"Why?! I'm nothing special Marko, I'm just a nobody that's been living on the streets for three years. Trust me, I'm not-"

I was cut off when he pressed his lips to mine. I gasped before closing my eyes and quickly kissing him back. It got a little heated after that, but we eventually pulled away from each other, and I looked up to see him giving me a look full of something I couldn't recognize.

"Amber, don't talk about yourself like that. You're beautiful, funny, smart, and you're so amazing with animals it's almost terrifying!"

"Gee, thanks." I joked and he rolled his eyes before giving me a serious look.

"I mean it Amber, and don't even think about saying that you're not worth crying over! Katie almost ripped my head off when I tried to come near you, Rose was crying so hard that David had to hold her just to keep her from collapsing, and Luna was willing to give every drop of her blood if it meant saving you!"

I gasped when I remembered what happened and gave him a scared look, but he put his hand up to silence me. "Calm down baby, Luna's fine. She just passed out after giving you her blood."

I sighed in relief before fully realizing what had happened.

"Marko, a-am I a-"

"Full vampire? Yeah." He sighed before giving me an apologetic look, but he had nothing to be sorry for. I smiled softly and reached up to kiss him. He seemed surprised at first, but quickly kissed me back.

"Marko, it's ok. I wanted this."

His eyes lit up and he gave me a hopeful expression. "You did?"

I nodded and laughed slightly when a huge smile split his face and he pulled me into another toe-curling kiss. "I love you Amber."

I gasped and felt happy tears gathering in my eyes. "I love you too."

* * *

 ***Luna's POV***

' _God my head hurts!'_

I groaned before slowly opening my eyes. Except for a few candles, the room was pitch-black. The pounding in my head sounded like a giant bass drum beating against my skull, and I closed my eyes to try and alleviate some of the pain.

After a few minutes, the pain finally died down to a slight ache, and I opened my eyes again to try and get some idea of my surroundings. I slowly looked around and saw something hanging from the ceiling while catching the light from the candles, quickly realizing that it was a string of beads hanging from a dream catcher. It had red-tailed hawk feathers hanging from it, and held a small statue of a Native American with a wolf pelt draped over his shoulders in its center while the spiderweb pattern of the sinew glowed in the firelight.

It must belong to Dwayne.

I pulled my gaze away from the beautiful piece and smiled slightly when I saw Laddie curled up in a small cot on the other side of the room with an old beat-up teddy bear clutched in his arms.

' _One of the girls must've brought him here, good call.'_

I moved to get up, but felt something (or rather, some _one_ ) pull me back and I almost had a heart attack when I felt bare skin against my back (my jacket was gone and I was wearing a black crop-top)

I managed to turn around in the tight embrace and blushed when I found myself pressed against the bare chest of a sleeping Dwayne.

' _Well shit.'_

I heard him chuckle and looked up to find a pair of dark eyes looking at me in amusement.

' _Ok, so he_ wasn't _sleeping.'_

" _Svnalei ostu uwoduhi._ "

 **(Good morning beautiful.)**

I blushed harder and gave him a teasing smile.

" _Tlasgo nihi unegutsidv Svhiyeyi ostu_?"

 **(Don't you mean good evening?)**

He chuckled and put his forehead to mine.

" _Otahitsu asvnasdiyi_?"

 **(How are you feeling?)**

" _Hawa, ayv iyelisdi_."

 **(Alright, I guess.)**

He gave me a disbelieving look and I sighed before remembering what happened earlier. "Where's Amber? I-is she-" He put a hand up to silence me and gave me a reassuring smile. "She's fine _usdiga_. Marko's with her right now, don't worry."

 **(Usdiga = baby)**

I sighed in relief and felt tears gathering in my eyes. She's alive, in a sense.

"And the others?"

"Rose is with David, and Katie's with Paul."

I buried my face in his chest to try and hide my tears, but he quickly grabbed me & tilted my head up to look me in the eye. "Hey, don't cry Luna. You don't have any reason to cry."

I gave him a defeated look and felt like someone was stabbing me in the chest with a dull knife. "Yes I do! I promised myself that I'd protect my sisters with my life, and yet I almost lost Amber because I didn't listen to my instincts! I _knew_ something like this was gonna happen! I should've been watching her! Maybe then she wouldn't've-"

" _Alewisdodi_! Luna, you couldn't've known that would happen, but you _did_ manage to save her. She's still alive because you nearly gave your life for her!"

 **(Alewisdodi = stop)**

I thought over what he'd just said. I guess in a way I still kept my promise, but that doesn't change the fact that I almost lost her because I didn't pay attention.

I opened my mouth to speak before he suddenly kissed me so hard that it nearly took my breath away. I felt electric shocks pass through my body and I lightly moaned before putting my arms around him and kissing him back just as hard. I shivered when I felt him put his arms around my waist and place his (slightly cold) hands on my lower back.

"Ew!"

I smiled when I heard Laddie protest and Dwayne chuckled before we pulled away from each other, I was slightly breathless, but I managed to calm down before turning to see Laddie giving us grossed-out looks.

I almost forgot he was there.

"Not exactly what I wanna see when I first wake up! Yuck!" We laughed as Laddie yawned and rubbed the sleep out of his eyes.

' _Cute.'_

"Hey, why are we in here? Where's Star?" I gave Dwayne a nervous look and he kissed my forehead before turning to Laddie. "We'll explain once the others wake up, ok little man?" He nodded and I sighed before Dwayne and I moved to get up.

' _That's gonna be a_ fun _conversation._ '


	35. No Need For Apologies

**AN: I'm always open to constructive criticism, so please don't be afraid to review & tell me what you think! :)**

* * *

 ***Third person POV***

After managing to drag themselves out of bed, everyone - minus Amber & Marko - was gathered in the main area of the cave. After about ten minutes of worrying (mostly on Katie's part) Marko entered the room with a slightly-groggy Amber.

"Hey guys."

She was immediately tackled in a giant tear-filled group hug by her sisters, much to the amusement of the lost boys.

"You fucking bitch! Don't you _ever_ scare me like that again or I _swear_ to god I'll kill you myself!" Katie threatened before hugging her so tightly that Amber felt like her ribs could break, but she didn't care. Everyone laughed at Katie's threat while Amber hugged her back just as tightly.

"Seriously though, what the _hell_ were you thinking going after those little freaks by yourself?! You should've yelled to us at least!" Luna went into her "mama bear" mode (as Katie liked to call it) and Amber gave her an apologetic look. She knew not to make jokes when Luna turned into the angry/protective mother.

"I know, but you guys were trying to deter Michael from taking Laddie, so I thought I could handle it myself."

"That doesn't matter! I could've handled Michael on my own, I would've sent Katie or Rose with you if you would've just said something! _Please_ Amber, don't ever do something stupid like that again! I've lost too many people that I love already, I don't wanna lose you too!"

The boys watched in amazement as Luna scolded Amber like a mother would scold a child, the sisters hugged each other while Amber tearfully apologized over & over again before Luna pulled away.

"Hey, look Amber, I'm not really mad at you. It's those little _walosi_ that I'm pissed at!"

 **(Walosi = toads)**

Amber laughed slightly and Dwayne chuckled while the others looked on in confusion.

" _What_ did she say?" Paul asked while giving them a 'wtf' look.

" _Walosi_ means toads. She's talking about the frog brothers." Dwayne answered him and David chuckled while Paul threw his hands up in disbelief. "Ah! Ok, why the hell didn't she just say that?"

"She tends to speak Cherokee when she's _really_ pissed off." Katie laughed before they all moved to sit down so they could talk about what to do next.

* * *

 ***Time skip (because I don't wanna write out their hour-long conversation lol)***

It took a _lot_ of convincing, but Luna & Rose finally managed to talk the boys out of going to attack the Emerson home by explaining that the frog brothers may have actually been smart enough to set traps for the vampires, if Luna's vision was anything to go by.

"Ok, so what do you suggest Luna?"

"Well, the girls & I agreed to look after Michael & Sam while their mother goes on a date with the head-vampire tonight. Yes, I know about Max." Luna quickly explained when the boys gave her shocked looks.

"I also know that Lucy - Sam & Michael's mom - happens to be his mate."

The girls gave her confused looks as David looked at her in complete shock. "How the _hell_ do you know that?!"

Luna smirked before pulling the book out of the inside-pocket of her coat, Dwayne jumped back in surprise when he saw it. "Where did you get that?!"

"Lets just say that an old friend gave it to me & leave it at that." He gave her a look of disbelief, but let it slide as David spoke again. "I'll believe that you learned about the mate bond from that book, but that doesn't explain how you knew about Max being the head-vampire."

"Mate bond? What's-"

"I'll explain later." David said before Rose could finish and Luna smiled slightly before answering.

"I suspected him when he came over to the Emerson home to have dinner with Lucy, that was the night that Michael went to the boardwalk to look for Star and ran into you guys instead. Michael was about to leave the house when Max arrived, and he wouldn't come in until Michael invited him. Then he talked about you guys when I spoke to him and said that he 'hoped to welcome all of us into his family very soon', but I wasn't 100% sure if he wasn't just being a creeper."

Everyone laughed before Dwayne gave her a questioning look. "So what cemented it for you?"

Luna gave them a sad smile. "My _edoda_ told me."

"She means her father." Dwayne quickly answered before anyone could ask.

"You had another vision, didn't you?" Luna nodded at Rose's question while the boys looked at her in a mixture of shock and confusion.

"You can have visions?!"

Luna went on to explain everything to the boys, from her last vision of her father's funeral to her dream/vision of her father giving her advice. They listened intently and asked questions here & there, which Luna was happy to answer.

"So _that's_ why you don't want us to go to attack them; you've already seen how it'll turn out."

She nodded before turning to Amber and giving her an apologetic look. "I'm pretty sure it was Marko in my vision, but the image was really blurry, so it could've been you I was seeing. I should've paid more attention, I'm sorry."

"Don't be, It's not your fault."

Luna smiled slightly before remembering what her father had told her. "Oh, my father also said that the three of us shouldn't turn just yet, because - apparently - if we do, we could end up dead."

Everyone gave her looks of shock & confusion. "Why?!"

"I'm not entirely sure, all I know is that after he said that, I heard people fighting, the sound of a gunshot, and then someone screaming in pain." The girls shuddered at the information before Rose cleared her throat.

"So what do we do now?"

Luna smirked before looking between Katie & Rose. "Well, we _did_ promise Lucy that we'd look after Michael & Sam tonight, and I'd just _hate_ to disappoint her."


	36. Knock Knock

***Third person POV***

It was decided that Luna, Katie & Rose would go over to the Emerson house while Amber & the boys waited outside just in case. Luna knew that because they were half-vampires, things like holy water or silver (silver burns vampires) wouldn't work on them.

Luna had told the boys to stop at the boardwalk so that they could see if Lucy was off work yet, fortunately for them, she was just walking out the door with Max when they showed up.

"Hi girls! We were just about to leave. Are you still going to be able to look after Michael & Sam, or did something come up?" Luna shook her head in the negative & gave Lucy a reassuring smile. "Amber isn't feeling too well, but Katie, Rose & I were actually just about to head over to your place."

"Oh, well that's a shame. I hope she feels better soon, and hopefully the boys won't give you too much trouble!"

She really hated lying to Lucy, but Luna also knew that it'd be best if she wasn't involved in the chaos that was about to unfold.

"It's just a chest cold, and I'm pretty sure we can handle a couple teenage boys for one night without her." She sent Max a subtle pointed look when she mentioned the 'chest cold', he seemed to get the hint and nodded in understanding.

"Well, I'm sure Amber will be fine, and you girls are tough, so the boys should be no problem for you."

Luna smirked when she saw the evil glint in his eye. "Oh, I'm sure of it."

* * *

 ***Time Skip***

The gang was parked a ways away from the Emerson house so that they wouldn't hear the bikes.

"Are you sure about this?"

"For the thousandth time, yes!" Luna sighed as Dwayne questioned her _again_. "Look Dwayne, I know you're worried, but trust me, it's best if you & the boys just let us handle this."

Dwayne didn't look convinced, so Luna gave him a reassuring smile. "I promise, if anything goes wrong I'll be sure to send a mind-link to you immediately."

She leaned over and kissed him before getting off the bike and walking over to the girls. "Ok, we'll go on foot from here. Remember, we're going to try talking things out first, but if they try anything, don't hurt Sam or Michael if you can help it. As far as Star & the frog brothers are concerned, I could care less whether or not you rip them to pieces."

Rose & Katie nodded before the three of them made their way to the house while the others perched themselves in the trees outside the windows.

The girls paused when they heard a dog barking and moved around to the back door, only to find poor Nanook tied to the fence. Luna walked towards him and he whined when he saw the girls. She briefly wondered why he wasn't freaking out on them like he had done to Michael, but quickly realized that maybe it was because he didn't see them as a threat.

"Aw! Hey boy, did they leave you out here?" Luna slowly put her hand out so he could sniff it and he whimpered before licking her hand, making her smile.

"Luna? Is that you?!"

She turned to see Sam making his way toward them, he had a hesitant look on his face and Luna gave him a reassuring smile. "Hey Sam, why's Nanook tied up?"

He was still hesitant, but tried to smile nonetheless. "He kept barking & growling at Michael & Star, so Mike made me tie him up. Uh, w-where's Amber?" He gave them a nervous look, obviously fearing the worst.

"She's alive, in a sense. Look, we came here to try & talk things out, but if you guys try anything, I can't promise your safety Sam. May we come inside?" He nodded and gave them an apologetic look before untying Nanook and leading them into the house.

"WHY THE HELL ARE _THEY_ HERE?!"

Luna growled when Edgar started yelling, and quickly used her vampire speed to rush over before grabbing him by the neck & picking him up to slam him against the wall. Alan moved to try and help his brother, but was quickly stopped by Katie, who wrestled him to the ground before wrenching his hands behind his back & sitting on top of him.

"Shut your _fucking_ mouth you disgusting little _TOAD_! We almost lost our sister because of you! If I hadn't almost killed myself by giving her my blood, I would've had to watch my little sister _die_ right in front of me! How would you like to know how that feels?" She turned to look at Katie, who smirked before grabbing Alan by the hair and pulling his head back so he could look Edgar in the eye.

"How would you like it if you had to watch your brother die slowly & painfully? While you sit by helplessly, knowing that you can't do _anything_ to save him? And the worst part about it, is that it was _YOUR_ fault for getting him involved in the first place!"

"Luna, stop! Please! You said that you just wanted to talk!"

She turned to see Sam standing there with tears in his eyes and Rose holding back an angry Michael. She sighed before giving him an apologetic look.

"You're right _usdi_ _dinadanvtli_ , I did."

 **(Little brother)**

She turned to look between Edgar & Alan. "Now listen up you two, believe it or not, the girls and I are the ones that convinced the vampires _not_ to come rip you apart for trying to kill their brother, and almost killing his mate. They agreed to let us talk to you guys first to try and sort this shit out, but if you try anything, I won't hesitate to rip you two to pieces! Do I make myself clear?!"

The frogs seemed to have a silent conversation with each other before nodding reluctantly.

"Good. Now as a sign of good faith, you'd better give up all your weapons, and that _includes_ the squirt-guns filled with holy water!"

"Like _hell_ we will!"

"Well then I guess you _want_ us to call the rest of the gang, it'd be eight of us against four of you because I know that the little bitch hiding upstairs is too much of a pussy to help you fight!"

"Heh, I see what you did there." Luna smirked at Katie's remark before squeezing Edgar's neck a little bit tighter, not enough to cut off his air supply, but hard enough that her now-sharp nails managed to draw blood.

"C'mon guys, just do it so we can get this shit over & done with!" Sam pleaded with the stubborn toads, who eventually nodded in agreement.

"Good, now hand 'em over!"

Luna let go of Edgar, causing him to drop to the floor while coughing & clutching his slightly bleeding neck. Katie used her free hand to remove the stakes that Alan had attached to his back & belt before standing up to go join her sisters.

"Now, Michael, go get Star and join us in the living room. We're gonna have ourselves a little group chat."


	37. I'm Fucking Grateful

***Third person POV***

After taking all of the weapons away from the frogs - and forcing Alan to drain the upstairs bathtub filled with holy water & garlic - the girls had everyone (minus the lost boys & Amber) gathered around the living room. Star had immediately started yelling at the girls about them "keeping Laddie hostage", but one evil look & a few choice words from Luna had her in tears & cowering on the couch next to a very nervous/pissed-off Michael.

"Ok, now that everyone's settled, we have a few rules to go over before we talk; 1) we try to keep things as calm & rational as possible. 2) when somebody is speaking, _nobody_ interrupts them & _everyone_ waits until said-person is finished speaking before stating their opinion. And 3) if _anyone_ tries anything, we immediately call the boys. They're watching us right now, and trust me, if they have to step in, it won't be pretty."

Luna made sure to aim the last part at the frog brothers, Edgar went to open his mouth - to try & make a smartass remark no doubt - but Luna put her hand up to silence him.

"Before you open your mouth Edgar, take a minute to think; We took _all_ your weapons away, _and_ had your brother drain the bathtub upstairs, which i'll admit was actually pretty clever, but you're completely unarmed now, so how do you expect to defend yourself against _five_ full-vampires - one of which is a bloodthirsty newborn - on top of three half-vampires?"

That immediately shut him up.

"Ok, we all understand the rules, right? I don't have to repeat myself?" Everyone nodded and Luna sighed before turning to Star.

"I'll let you start, one question at a time, and if you start to get pissy with me, I'll punch you so fucking hard you'll be shitting your teeth out! Understand?"

Star cringed before nodding & took a moment to breathe before squaring her shoulders. "Why did you trick Michael into taking me & leaving Laddie with the boys?"

"Because you're not his mother. I know he's only ten, but he should have a say in wether or not he stays human."

"BUT HE'S JUST-"

* * *

 ***Luna's POV***

I quickly stood up and gave Star a murderous look. "What did I _just_ say about getting pissy with me?!"

She choked on whatever she was about to say next before cringing in fear & burying herself in Michael's side.

"Yeah, that's what I thought. Anymore questions _Star_?" She shook her head in the negative and I nodded before turning to Michael.

"Your turn."

He gave me a pissed-off look before sighing. "Whose side are you on?! You're obviously here to speak on the killer's behalf, yet you convinced them not to attack us, even though you almost lost a sister because of us!"

I put up a hand to silence him before saying my piece.

"First of all; you're right, we _are_ here to speak on behalf of the boys. Yes, Amber almost died because _YOU_ led the frog brothers to the cave, but you're not the one that tried shoving a _stake_ through Marko's heart." I sent a pointed look in Edgar's direction and he let out an angry huff before crossing his arms.

"Do you wanna know why we begged them not to hurt you guys?" He gave me a confused nod and I sighed before looking between him & Sam with a sad smile.

"The truth is...the girls & I have been on the run our whole lives, and we're all each-other had for the longest time."

I paused before giving them a fond smile.

"But then we came here, and we met you & your family. See, the girls and I never really had mothers growing up, and your mom is such a sweet and wonderful woman, she's become like the mother we always wanted, but never really had. Your crazy grandpa reminds me so much of one of the Cheyenne elders that I grew up with it's actually kinda scary, and I actually wish he really _was_ my grandfather. Also, you & Sam have become like little brothers to us. We consider you guys family now, and if someone tries to fuck with our family, we'll rip them apart! And before you say anything about the lost boys, they're our mates, so they're family too now."

I saw Sam trying to hold back tears and gave him a small smile.

"We want to settle this bullshit as easily as possible, preferably without anyone on either side getting hurt. I admit that David shouldn't have tricked you Michael, but _you're_ the one that was trying to be Mr. Macho & impress Star by going along with the boys."

"I _knew_ it! We're all at the mercy of your sex-glands bud!" The girls & I doubled over in laughter while the frogs made grossed-out faces and Star & Michael turned beet-red in embarrassment.

"Well, I guess that's _one_ way of putting it!" I managed to say between giggles. I relayed what Sam had said through my mind-link and heard Dwayne laugh through the bond.

 _I'm beginning to like this kid!_

I smiled at Dwayne's remark and turned to look at the frog brothers.

"Ok boys, I know I'm gonna regret this, but it's your turn." Edgar cleared his throat before giving me an evil glare.

"How could you side with those blood-sucking _freaks_?! I don't care if they _are_ your mates! They're killers, and they should all be sent back to hell where they belong!"

I growled at him before calmly standing up & walking over to stand in front of him.

"Edgar, you should _really_ put a filter on that motormouth of yours. First of all; yes, they kill people, but it's not like they have a choice! They can't turn back into humans, and believe it or not, they only target undesirables, and god knows there's _plenty_ of them in Santa Carla! They _could_ just drain everything in sight, but they don't."

"Are you saying your actually _ok_ with killing people?!"

"As long as it's not an innocent or a child, then yeah, and you know what? I'm actually fucking grateful that they turned me!"

"That's _disgusting_! You must be sick in the head if you actually think-"

 ***Third person POV***

Luna vamped out & let out a demonic roar before grabbing Edgar by the neck and lifting him into the air so that he was eye-level with her.

"I had _LEUKEMIA_ you fucking _ASSHOLE_! I was slowly dying of the same disease that killed my father when I was _ten years old_! I lost _three_ pounds in one night, woke up sweating my _ass_ off in the middle of the night, dealt with _SEVERE_ bone pains, and had _three_ nosebleeds within two nights!"

The whole room went dead silent as Luna unknowingly had tears streaming down her face.

"Luna, why didn't you tell us?! I knew about the nosebleeds, but this is the first I've heard of the other stuff!"

She turned to see her sisters giving her pained looks. Usually she never kept secrets from them, and it hurt to know that she had kept something this serious from them. Luna dropped Edgar back in his seat and he gasped for breath while she hung her head in shame.

"Because... I-I didn't want you to worry. You guys always looked to _me_ when we were in trouble, I'm the 'leader', I'm supposed to take care of you guys, not the other way around! We were already dealing with so much bullshit that I didn't want to add this on top of it, and I didn't even fully realize that it _was_ leukemia until I started having the nosebleeds & losing weight like crazy. I'm sorry I didn't tell you guys, I just didn't want to scare you."

"Luna, we're sisters. Maybe not by blood, but it doesn't matter. We're still family, and family looks out for each other no matter what! Just because you're the leader doesn't mean that you have to carry all the weight on your shoulders! Please, don't hide things from us again."

"She's right Luna."

Everyone turned to see Amber & the boys standing in the doorway, Amber had tears in her eyes as she quickly walked over & pulled Luna into a bone-crushing hug with Katie & Rose following soon after, Luna couldn't hold back quiet sobs as her sisters held her in their arms.

Nobody said a word as they had their moment, not even the frog brothers.


	38. Do We Have A Deal?

***Third person POV***

After Luna's (slightly) embarrassing breakdown, David took the lead & had everyone seated around the living room. The "Lost Gang" was seated on one side of the room while Michael, Sam, Star & the frog brothers were nervously seated as far away from the vampires as physically possible. David casually lit a cigarette before deciding to speak up.

"Alright. Now, same rules as before; you don't attack us, we don't attack you. Deal?" After a round of hesitant nods, he blew the thick smoke in Michael's face.

"Michael, I tried to make you immortal, and you responded by bringing vampire-hunters into my home, almost killing my brother's mate, and trying to take my halflings away from me."

"You tried to make me a _killer_! I didn't mean for Amber to get hurt, but I was only trying to help Star!"

David smirked as he glanced between Sam & the frog brothers before giving Michael a patronizing look.

"And in doing so, you _deliberately_ put three kid's lives at risk, one of them being your own brother, almost got a woman killed, and tried to kidnap a child who was perfectly happy right where he was. All over a woman that you've known for less than a _week_."

Michael opened his mouth to protest and David raised an eyebrow at him, daring him to try & tell him otherwise. Realizing that he had no valid argument to give, Michael hung his head in shame & leaned against the back of the couch, signaling that he had nothing further to say. David chuckled before taking another drag off his cigarette.

"Um, D-David?" Sam hesitantly spoke up, causing David to turn & give him a questioning look.

"Uh, I-it wasn't all Michael's fault. I-I'm the one that called the frog brothers in the first place, and Michael actually tried to talk me out of going into the cave, but I went anyway. I...I didn't mean for anybody to get hurt, I was just trying to help my brother."

* * *

 ***Luna's POV***

Poor Sam. He really didn't mean for anybody to get hurt, he just got sucked into helping his idiot brother.

David sighed and I turned to see him giving Sam an understanding smile. "I can respect that. I'd probably do the same thing if I was in your position, but lets face it Sam, your brother's a grade-A asshole."

"Yeah, tell me something I _don't_ know." Sam deadpanned, Michael shot him a death glare while everyone else (minus Star & the frog brothers) busted out laughing. I saw Sam smile at us before Michael subtly cleared his throat, and I frowned when he gave Sam a very pissed-off look, causing the poor kid to cringe slightly.

' _Oh HELL no!'_

"Michael! I suggest you stop that bullshit _right now_ before I carve your fucking eyes out! I may consider you family, but that doesn't mean that I won't kick your ass! Just because we're vampires doesn't mean that Sam can't joke around with us!"

"Yeah _Mikey_! At least your brother doesn't have a stick up his ass like you do!" Paul joked before pulling out (yet another) joint and I smiled when he pulled out a book of matches.

' _Katie must've gotten to him.'_

"Alright! Enough with this bullshit! I'm getting tired of this pointless conversation! Are you gonna kill us or not?!"

' _I guess Edgar got tired of keeping his mouth shut. Oh well, the silence was nice while it lasted.'_

I growled before turning to face an annoyed Edgar frog.

"Here's the deal Edgar; even though you tried to kill Marko, almost killed my sister & have _royally_ pissed me off, I'd rather have this night end peacefully. The only reason that I haven't killed both of you little fucktards is because of Sam. I'd rather not kill you, but I also don't want you two to kill any of us! So it seems we're at a standstill until we figure this shit out!"

Alan sat up before shooting us a glare. "What do you suggest then?"

"A truce."

I turned when David spoke up & saw him giving the frogs an intense stare.

"Despite what you may think, I _am_ a reasonable guy. My pack has only ever fed from the scum of Santa Carla; drug-addicts, thieves, murderers, rapists, etc. We only kill innocents if it's absolutely necessary to protect our secret, but if you're willing to leave me & my pack alone & swear not to tell anyone about us, then we'd leave you alone in turn. But if you try to harm anyone in my pack or spill our secret, we'll kill you. Plain & simple."

The frog brothers shot up off the couch before Edgar pointed at David. "And how do we know that _you_ won't just try to kill us later on?! We don't trust bloodsuckers!"

I heard multiple growls from the lost boys & quickly stood up before calmly walking over to stand in front of Edgar.

"Look, if anyone on either side breaks the deal, anything goes. If one of our pack tries to hurt you or your brother, then the deal is broken and you can take whatever action you see fit, but the same goes for us too."

Edgar crossed his arms and gave me a disbelieving look. "What makes you think I'll trust _you_ any more than them?"

"I swear on the grave of my father _Haliyi_ _Waya_ , that as long as you let us live in peace, you & your brother will not be harmed by anyone in my pack."

 **(Gray Wolf)**

I stated before offering my hand to him. He seemed to consider it for a few minutes before hesitantly reaching out to firmly shake my hand. I heard multiple sighs of relief & turned to see David giving me an amused look.

"Since when did _you_ become the boss?"

"Since _you_ were about to rip Edgar apart because he was pissing you off." He narrowed his eyes at me before Rose distracted him by pulling him in for a kiss. I walked over to Dwayne and he smiled before putting his arms around me.

"You called us _your_ pack."

"Yeah, I know."

He chuckled and I reached up to kiss him before hearing the front door open.

"Michael? Sam?"

' _Oh shit!_ '


	39. Explanations

***Third Person POV***

Everyone froze when a very confused Lucy - along with an equally confused & slightly annoyed Max - walked through the front door to see everyone gathered in the living room.

"Luna? _What_ is going on here?! I thought you said that Amber was sick, and who're all of these people?!"

For once in her life, Luna couldn't think her way out of a problem.

"Uh, well...-"

"It's alright Lucy, perhaps I should try to explain." Max gave Luna a reassuring nod before turning to Lucy, who was becoming more nervous by the minute. "Please, why don't we sit down, and I'll explain everything."

Lucy nodded before walking over to sit down in between Michael & Sam. Max moved to stand beside David & gave them all an apologetic look.

"I'm so sorry Lucy, this is all my fault. David & my boys misbehaved, but I told you; _boys need a mother_."

The boys growled in annoyance, causing their mates to giggle before quickly composing themselves.

"Max, what're you talking about?"

A look of realization crossed over Sam's face before he gave Max an accusing glare. "I knew it! You're the head vampire!"

"No shit Sherlock."

Katie reached over to smack Paul upside the head while the rest of the gang laughed at the pothead. Edgar & Alan gave Max incredulous looks while Lucy looked around as if everyone had suddenly gone insane.

"B-but you passed the test!"

"Uh, dumbass, didn't we go over this already? Michael _invited_ Max into the house before he left to go see Star remember?" Alan blushed in shame & quickly sat down.

"Exactly Luna. Don't _ever_ invite a vampire into your house you silly boy, it renders you powerless."

* * *

 ***Luna's POV***

I was gauging Lucy's reaction to all of this. I felt terrible for ever lying to her, but it's not like she would've believed me anyway! Hell, she didn't seem to believe it now, she was looking at all of us as if we all sprouted two heads!

"Has everyone gone _crazy_ here?! What's the matter with all of you?!"

I glared when I saw David getting a rather devious look on his face. "David, don't you fucking _dare_! I know what you're thinking, and I _swear_ to god I'll stake your sorry ass!"

David gave me a teasing smile while the rest of the boys laughed. "She doesn't believe us Luna, I was only gonna prove it to her."

"Oh _no you don't_ you asshole!" Rose gave him a murderous glare when she finally realized what David was planning and I stood up to walk over & stand in front of Lucy.

"Listen, Max isn't explaining things very well - no offense Max - so I think maybe we should start over & explain things from the beginning."

She gave me a look that told me I was treading on thin ice before nodding in agreement. "Yes, maybe you should."

I could tell by the tone of her voice that if I wasn't careful, I'd lose her trust completely. So I sat down & told her everything from the moment the girls & I arrived in Santa Carla, leaving out certain details like my visions & David almost killing Sam.

I don't think she'd take too kindly to that information.

 ***Time Skip, 2 hours later***

Lucy had stood up about five minutes ago and had been pacing ever since.

"Lucy, you're gonna wear a hole in the floor if you keep this up much longer." She glared at me before sighing and putting a hand to her forehead.

"Ok, let me get this straight; Max, you & these boys are _vampires_?" She asked before gesturing to the lost boys, Max nodded while Lucy went on.

"And Luna, you girls are vampires too now?!"

"Amber is the only full vampire. The rest of us, including Michael, Star, and Laddie are only half."

She spun around to look at Michael, who apparently couldn't look his mother in the eye at the moment. "Michael?! Is this true?!"

"Yes, and it's my fault Lucy. I _knew_ that if I could get Sam & Michael into the family, there's no way you could say no."

"Great, the blood-sucking Brady Bunch!" Edgar remarked dryly and I glared in disbelief at Max's selfish plan. I can't _believe_ he'd resort to using Lucy's sons & putting everyone in danger just so that she wouldn't be able to refuse him!

"So you made David trick Michael into drinking your blood. While I get that you wanted Lucy to be your mate, the way you went about it is _so_ wrong Max! Using her family against her & putting everyone else in danger is the _worst_ possible thing you could do! I thought you were more sensible than that!"

Max glared in my direction as if he could intimidate me, but I didn't care if he _was_ a vampire, I wasn't backing down from this argument.

Amber was right, you can't back down for anything when challenging an alpha.

"Ok, I've heard about all I can take! If this is some kind of a joke it's _NOT_ funny!"

I guess Lucy isn't going to believe us until she sees for herself. I sighed before turning to face her.

"It's not a joke Lucy." I let myself vamp out & almost cried when I saw the terrified look on her face.

I suddenly felt light-headed, and felt something wet on my face. When I reached up to touch it, I pulled my hand back to find my fingers covered in blood.

My legs suddenly felt like they couldn't hold me anymore, and I faintly heard someone call my name before everything went black.


	40. Family

**AN: Surprise flashback chapter! Which means you'll have to wait until the next one to find out what's going on with Luna. Hope you enjoy this chapter nonetheless! xD**

* * *

 ***Flashback***

 _"C'mon Amber! Hurry the fuck up!"_

 _"Calm your tits Katie! I can only go so fast!"_

 _The sixteen year old duo of Katie & Amber were quickly packing what few meager possessions they had. They were planning to escape from the orphanage since they couldn't stand it there anymore. They'd been stuck in that place since they were little kids & hadn't ever been adopted, so they saw no reason to stay there any longer._

 _"Sorry hun, I'm just sick of this place! The other girls here are total bitches, and Mrs. Williams has whacked me with that cane_ one _too many times!"_

 _"I know, and I also know that Mindy stole your stash & got you in trouble for it."_

 _You could practically see the smoke coming out of Katie's ears and hear her loud & clear as she growled in pure unbridled rage. _

_"Stash-stealing_ TROGLODYTE _must pay!"_

 _"I know. That's why I'm leaving_ these _on Mrs. William's desk before we leave." Amber winked conspiratorially & held up a few photos of their sixteen year old nemesis in a _very _compromising position with someone who looked suspiciously like Mrs. William's twenty-eight year old son, Trent._

 _"How did you?... Actually, never mind. I don't wanna know."_

 _"Yeah, you really don't."_

 ***Time Skip***

 _After leaving the incriminating photos in plain sight for Mrs. Williams to find in the morning, the diabolical duo quickly took off into the night & never looked back._

 _Let's just say that Mindy wasn't exactly the favorite anymore after that._

 _"So my sister-from-another-mister, where should we go now?"_

 _Amber smiled & shook her head as she looked through the list of places they could reach by bus. For some reason, one place seemed like it was calling to her, as if she _needed _to be there._

 _"How about New York City?"_

 _Katie seemed to think it over before smiling & nodding in agreement. "Sounds good to me!"_

 ***Time Skip, NYC***

 _"UGH! I_ HATE _public transportation!" An exhausted Katie groaned in annoyance as they finally exited the bus. Amber rolled her eyes as Katie cracked her back. "You'll get used to it."_

 _"Fuck you! We've been on that bus for_ thirteen hours! _My back hurts like a bitch!"_

 _Amber shook her head in annoyance before grabbing Katie & walking off to look for a place to stay for the night._

* * *

 ***Elsewhere***

 _"Dammit Rose!"_

 _"Sorry! It was in my blind spot!"_

 _"Yeah right!"_

 _A seventeen year old Luna & Rose were arguing - again - because Rose had almost gotten them caught by the cops since she hadn't noticed the sheriff parked _right across the street _from where they'd been selling pot for Draven. Rose had been with Luna & the underground for three years now, and the girls had been like sisters ever since._

 _"Alright, knock it off you two! The point is that you managed to not get caught. It's done & over with, let it go!"_

 _Luna grumbled in annoyance while Draven scolded them for arguing._

 _"Fine, but if it happens again I'm SO kicking your lily-white ass!"_

 _"HA! I'd_ love _to see you try it bitch!"_

 _Draven sighed & shook his head in exasperation before giving them the 'evil eye' (meaning he used his blind eye to glare at them, which never failed to freak them out) and they quickly shut up as he walked down one of the many tunnels that led to their hideout._

 _"Ok listen up; I know you're planning to go back out there Luna, but I want you to take Rose with you again. I'd rather you didn't go alone tonight."_

 _"Ok_ edutsi _."_

 **(Edutsi = Uncle)**

 _Luna sighed before motioning for Rose to follow her back out into the streets._

* * *

 ***Three hours later, Katie & Amber***

 _"How the_ FUCK _did you manage to get us lost?!" Katie yelled as she followed Amber through the streets. Said-woman sighed in annoyance before turning to face her. "_ I'M _not the one who decided to take a 'shortcut' through three different alleyways!"_

 _Katie mumbled profanities under her breath as they continued looking for their hotel. Eventually they managed to find it, only to see the NYPD swarming the place._

 _They were asking the manager questions while flashing pictures of them._

 _"You've GOT to be kidding me!"_

 _"How the_ FUCK _did they find us so fast?!" Not wanting to stick around & find out, the two girls quickly turned to run back the way they came._

 _"Hey!"_

 _Amber turned to see that the manager of the hotel had spotted them & had pointed them out to the cops, who in turn began to chase them._

 _"Oh shit! RUN FOR IT!" Katie reached back to grab Amber's wrist before taking off as fast as her tired legs could carry her._

 ***Rose & Luna***

 _"What the fuck?!"_

 _The girls had spotted the flashing lights from two streets away and were cautiously moving through the dark alleyways._

 _"What do you think happened Luna?" Before she could answer, Luna felt something crash into her & send her flying back into Rose's chest._

 _"_ OW _! Watch where you're-" She paused when she saw two girls about her age looking at her with a mixture of fear & desperation._

 _"You two! Stop right there!" Luna looked up to see a group of police officers heading their way & turned back when she felt one of them grab her shirt, only to see tears gathering in their eyes._

 _"Help us!_ PLEASE _!"_

 _They didn't look like the criminal type, so not wasting another second to think about it, Luna grabbed the wrist of the girl gripping her shirt & gave her a commanding look. "Follow me!"_

 _The girl didn't get to answer as Luna turned to run after Rose, who'd began running as soon as Luna had spoken. The four women ran through the maze of alleyways that made up half of NYC, and Luna only let go of the girl's wrist to scale a few fences & climb a ladder or two (sometimes the only direction to go was up)_

 _After about twenty minutes of running & ducking the cops, Rose finally spotted familiar territory. In the same fashion as Luna had done with Rose three years prior, they came upon a dead-end, but instead of a basement window behind a dumpster, they found an open manhole cover waiting for them. _

_Not caring that it led into the sewers, the foursome jumped down into the hole before Rose & Luna quickly pulled the lid over it, making it seem like it was sealed just before the cops rounded the corner._

 _Without waiting to listen to the reactions to their little disappearing act, Luna quickly led the girls down the winding tunnels._

 _"Ok, question time. First of all; I'm Luna, this is Rose." She said while motioning to her 'sister'. "Who are you two?"_

 _She heard one of them clear their throat & turned to see the one in the colorful jacket giving her a cautious look. "I-I'm Amber, this is Katie."_

 _Luna nodded before giving them a questioning glare. "Ok Amber & Katie, care to explain why the fuck you had half the NYPD after your ass?"_

 _Amber gave Katie a look before sighing. "We're runaways."_

 _That made Luna stop in her tracks, she saw Rose stop too before they both turned to give them curious looks._

 _"Go on."_

 _Katie was the one to speak next. "We escaped from an orphanage about three days ago, but somehow they must've found out where we were headed & managed to track us down."_

 _Luna softened her gaze before motioning for them to follow. "You can explain the details to us on the way, and Rose can spot a liar very easily, so you'd better tell the truth!"_

 _That's how it went for the next hour. Katie & Amber told them everything, from their not-so-pleasant home lives to their time in the orphanage. In turn, Luna & Rose told them about their similar experiences, and the four girls quickly bonded in the time it took to finally enter the abandoned subway station that served as their home._

 _Draven gave Amber & Katie the OK to stay in the underground, and Luna & Rose were happy to gain two more sisters. As the four women lay down to sleep that night, they had no idea of what fate had in store for them. For now, they were just content in the knowledge that they'd found a family in each other._

 _For now at least, that was enough._


	41. God Dammit!

**AN: Just wanna give a quick shoutout to a couple of my recent reviewers;**

 **JAKT-Flash: I'm glad that you like this story so much! Honestly I'm not very confident in my writing abilities, so it's always nice to hear that I'm not doing TOO bad a job! Lol**

 **Kali-WolfChilde: Have you really been power-reading this crap?! Lol jk, I'm glad you like my stuff, and I agree that Max is a master ass-hat! xD**

 **Also thank you so much to everyone who favorited/followed/reviewed this so far, it's because of you that I wanna keep on writing! I hope you enjoy this chapter & don't be afraid to tell me what you think! :)**

* * *

 ***Luna's Dream/Vision***

' **Where the** _ **hell**_ **am I?'**

 _ **I looked around to see nothing but dense forest surrounding me, and a narrow dirt path leading further into the trees. I squinted in the darkness when I saw a faint orange glow up ahead.**_

 _ **Seeing nothing else of interest, I began wandering down the path towards the light. As I got closer, I could detect the faint smell of burning applewood (yes, different types of wood have distinct smells when used as firewood)**_

 _ **There's only**_ **one** _**person I know that uses applewood for their campfire.**_

 _ **I picked up the pace & eventually came to an open clearing. There was a teepee set up, and a small campfire lit up the surrounding area.**_

 _ **I know this place.**_

 **"Shi'choo?"**

(Grandfather? {Cheyenne})

 **"Haáahe ayashe."**

(Hello little one {Cheyenne})

 _ **I turned to look and saw a face that immediately made me smile.**_

 _ **"White Crow!"**_

 _ **The old Cheyenne elder chuckled at me as I rushed over to give him a hug.**_

 _ **"Not so little anymore are you? You went and grew up on me!" I laughed as he led me over to sit by the fire.**_

 _ **"**_ **Shi'choo** _ **, not that I'm not happy to see you, but why are you here?" He threw another log on the fire & sighed before giving me an annoyed look.**_

 _ **"Because your father - Ma'heo'o rest his soul - is a fucking idiot!"**_

 _ **I almost fell over in shock, but quickly managed to compose myself. "Why?! What'd he do now?!"**_

 _ **"He didn't tell you that being a half-vampire hasn't cured your illness, it's only slowed its progression!"**_

 _ **"WHAT?! So you're telling me that I STILL have leukemia?!" He nodded before pulling out his peace pipe & lighting it.**_

 _ **"Yes. While it may have made you somewhat healthier, you won't be completely cured until you fully turn. Although you being a half-vampire means that it can't kill you, so I guess there's that."**_

' **God dammit!'**

 _ **I sighed in annoyance before taking a long drag off the pipe & handing it back to him. I let the smoke settle in my lungs for a bit while I thought over this new information.**_

 _ **So that's why I collapsed.**_

 _ **I breathed out the thick smoke & turned to look at White Crow. "So is that why you're here? To tell me that I'm still sick?"**_

 _ **"No**_ **ayashe** _ **, I'm also here to warn you that two people are on their way to Santa Carla. They're looking for you & your sisters, and they promise nothing but pain for you if you're not careful."**_

 _ **That doesn't sound good.**_

 _ **"So what do I do now?" He gave me a grim look before answering.**_

 _ **"Don't turn yet, because they'll be in Santa Carla by tomorrow night. Also, they will give you some news that will cause you much anger, but try not to let your emotions cloud your judgement. You'll have to figure out the rest yourself, because you're about to wake up."**_

 _ **I stood up & walked over to give him a hug, which he returned full force.**_

 **"Nemehō′tist ayashe."**

(I love you little one {Cheyenne})

 **"Nemehō′tist Shi'choo."**

 _ **I felt tears gathering in my eyes as everything faded away.**_

* * *

 ***End of Dream/Vision, Luna's POV***

' _Ok, my head hurts like holy hell!'_

I groaned before slowly opening my eyes to find myself in a bedroom. I looked around the room before spotting a Rob Lowe poster hanging on the closet door.

So I'm in Sam's room.

I turn when I hear the door open to find Dwayne giving me a relieved smile.

" _Osiyo uwoduhi, otahitsu asvnasdiyi_?"

 **(Hey beautiful, how are you feeling?)**

I smiled & sat up to embrace him when he walked over to sit next to me.

" _Ayv asvnasdi hawa, ayv iyelisdi_."

 **(I feel alright, I guess)**

He nodded & leaned over to kiss me before giving me a serious look. "Everyone's worried about you, even Lucy & the frog brothers. What happened back there?"

I was honestly surprised to hear that, I thought Lucy would hate me, not worry about me. I sighed before giving him a reassuring smile.

"I'll explain everything later. How long have I been out?"

"About half-an-hour."

"Damn, what'd I miss?"

He sighed before rolling his eyes in annoyance. "Well, Lucy & Max managed to talk it out, Lucy agreed to give Max another chance if he'd release Michael & Star from the blood bond."

He didn't sound too happy about it.

"So what's the problem?"

"Star is demanding that he release Laddie too, but Max wants Laddie to make his own choice, so he wants us to bring the kid here so he can make his choice in view of everyone."

' _That fucking bitch!'_

I growled in annoyance & heard Dwayne chuckle.

"Will that stupid _cunt_ ever learn?! I swear, if she causes any more trouble or tries to sway Laddie's decision in any way, I'm gonna rip her fucking throat out!"

Dwayne laughed before pulling me in for another kiss, I felt most of my anger disappear almost immediately & groaned in annoyance.

"Was that just to shut me up?"

He gave me a teasing smile. "Not entirely."

I narrowed my eyes before lightly smacking him in his bare chest.

" _Watali_."

 **(Dick)**

He just laughed at me before we stood up & began making our way downstairs.

"Well well, sleeping beauty finally awakens!" Paul laughed as I gave him the middle-digit salute, and Dwayne sat down before pulling me into his lap, making me blush slightly.

"Are you alright now Luna?"

I gave Lucy a questioning glance. "You're not mad at me for hiding this from you?"

To my surprise, she walked over & pulled me into a hug.

"No Luna, I'm not angry with you. I know why you did it, Sam told me about what happened at the cave, and about how much you tried to help. You & your sisters have done nothing but try to help Michael & haven't done anything to try to hurt us, so no, I'm not angry."

I felt tears gathering in my eyes before I returned the hug & felt a smile split my face.

' _Is this what it's like to have a mom?'_

I pulled away when I heard Max clear his throat and was a little creeped out when I saw everyone giving me the same questioning stare.

"What happened back there Luna? Do you know what made you collapse?"

I sighed before telling them what White Crow had told me, Max nodded in understanding while the girls gave me worried looks.

"Did he say anything about who exactly is coming here?" I gave Rose a grim look & was about to answer when we heard the front door open. We all turned to look as a disgruntled John Emerson walked through the door & gave us an annoyed look before he shook his head & sighed.

"One thing about living in Santa Carla I never could stomach; All the damn vampires."


	42. Decision

**AN: This chapter might be kinda boring, but I promise to try & make the next chapter a bit more exciting, so please bear with me! ****:)**

* * *

 ***Luna's POV***

' _I fucking knew it!'_

It turns out that not only did John Emerson know about the vampires in Santa Carla, but was also a half-vampire himself & had been ever since his wife died.

That I did _not_ know, but it definitely explains the whole taxidermy thing!

To say that Lucy was surprised would be an understatement, if her exasperated shout of " _I'm surrounded by vampires_!" was anything to go by.

It also turns out that his lady friend, the Widow Johnson, was the true head-vampire of Santa Carla & Max's sire. John himself had apparently been an experienced vampire hunter back in the day before he met & married Lucy's mother, but after she died, he found out that he was actually the widow's destined mate & changed his views about vampires.

After an extremely long conversation which involved Lucy (lightly) smacking her father for lying to her for so many years and watching him smoke Paul & Katie under the table (which was hilarious & somewhat terrifying at the same time) Max sent Dwayne to pick up Laddie while the others talked everything out.

The frog brothers eventually convinced the old man to teach them what he knew about being a vampire hunter, but in exchange they not only had to help him out with his taxidermy (by taking care of the carcasses, keeping the tools clean & sharpened and cleaning up the place every now & again) but also had to agree to leave the lost gang & the Widow Johnson alone.

Edgar groaned about it, but eventually agreed after Alan & I smacked him upside the head.

Everyone was doing their own thing, but I still had some _unfinished business_ to attend to. I managed to pull Star away from Michael & led her into the kitchen to "talk".

"Listen here you little bitch, I don't exactly care what happens to you & frankly, I can hardly stand you. But I _do_ care about Laddie, so for _his_ sake I'll behave myself."

"Oh _believe_ _me_ , you've made that point loud & clear! I don't know why you don't like me, but the feeling's mutual, and honestly, I only care about Laddie & me becoming human again."

She spoke in a snobby tone & I had to hold myself back from punching the bitch before giving her an annoyed glare. "But are you sure that's what _he_ wants?"

"He's only ten! He doesn't know what he wants!"

I roughly grabbed her by the throat before pinning her against the wall.

"When I was ten, I had to watch my father wither away & die of leukemia, and I ran away from the cops instead of letting myself be subjected to the bullying & torture that awaited me in an orphanage. I _might_ have been adopted, I _might_ have had a "normal" life, but I also could've ended up like Katie & Amber, and never been adopted while being abused my whole life. I _chose_ my path in life, and yeah, it was tough, but I wouldn't change a _damn_ thing about it! So when Laddie gets here, _you_ are going to keep your fucking mouth shut & let him choose for himself. If you try to sway his decision in any way, shape or form, I'll make you _beg_ me to end your pathetic life! _Is. That. Clear_?" I whispered the last part while letting myself vamp-out & squeezing her neck a bit tighter to emphasize just how serious I was.

Luckily she seemed to get the hint & quickly nodded in understanding.

"Good. Glad we understand each other."

I couldn't resist the urge to bounce her head off the wall before letting go of her & walking back into the living room, not knowing or caring how much pain she was in. David & Rose gave me knowing smirks when Star came out while rubbing the back of her head, and I just shrugged in indifference before walking over to talk to Sam.

* * *

I looked up when I heard the sound of a motorcycle & smiled when Dwayne came through the door while carrying a smiling Laddie on his shoulders.

' _Cute.'_

"Luna!"

Dwayne set the boy down and I picked him up & swung him around in a circle when he ran over to me, making the both of us giggle while the boys chuckled in amusement. He looked around a bit before spotting Star.

"Oh, hey Star."

I almost busted out laughing at the blatant indifference Laddie showed towards her. She looked slightly hurt at being ignored by him, but honestly, it didn't surprise me at all.

I set him down when I heard Max clear his throat and we all turned to the older vampire. "Laddie, we've talked it over, and I've decided to make Star & Michael human again, but I wanted _you_ to make your own decision."

Laddie gave him a questioning look & I made sure to stand next to Star as Max gave him the ultimatum.

"Laddie, do you want to be human again? Or do you want to stay with the boys?"

I lightly bumped Star's arm when I saw her open her mouth & gave her a paralyzing glare. She quickly shut her mouth and we turned to watch as Laddie thought it over before giving Max a worried look.

"Are Luna & the others gonna turn human again too?" I couldn't help but laugh slightly & heard the girls doing the same.

Max gave him a reassuring smile & shook his head in the negative. "No, they're staying with the boys."

I bit back a laugh when Laddie nodded in understanding (his seriousness was too cute) and smiled when Lucy spoke up. "Don't worry about what anyone else says or wants you to do, what matters is what _you_ want. It's your choice Laddie."

We all waited patiently as Laddie thought it over before he finally made his decision.

"I wanna stay with my brothers."

I smiled and watched as Paul & Marko let out a cheer, and David smirked when the boy ran over to Dwayne, who picked him up & gave him a bear-hug.

Star looked like she wanted to protest, but one look from me was all it took for her to back down.

"Well, that settles it then! Michael. Star." They turned to look at Max and I watched as he vamped out before his eyes began to glow like hellfire.

 _ **"I release you."**_

Their eyes flashed bright yellow before they both clutched their heads in pain and David & I quickly caught them when they passed out.

"W-what happened?! Are they alright?!"

"They're fine Lucy, they're just sleeping while my blood leaves their system. When they wake up tomorrow they'll be human again."

Lucy sighed in relief before leading David & I to Michael's room. We dumped them off on the bed before heading back downstairs.

"Well, now that this whole fiasco is over, I believe it's time for us to head home before the sun comes up."

We all agreed with Max, and after saying goodbye to Sam & promising to visit Lucy, Dwayne quickly flew Laddie home before coming back for me & his bike.

We decided it would be best to sleep in the rooms again, but can you really blame us? After all this bullshit, we weren't about to take _any_ chances!

As I fell asleep in Dwayne's arms, I couldn't help but think about White Crow's warning again. I admit that the girls & I have quite a few enemies, but who the hell would come all the way to Santa Carla just to hunt us down? I managed to shrug it off as I felt the day-sleep take over.

I guess we'll find out soon enough.


	43. Problem

***Luna's POV***

We were all hanging out at the boardwalk, the whole Emerson/frog brothers ordeal was practically forgotten by now. Even though it only happened a few nights ago, a _lot_ had happened already since then.

Star was going to stay with the Emerson family now, meaning Laddie finally had his own bed to sleep on instead of the uncomfortable old couch (which he was _very_ happy about, much to our amusement)

Sam usually hung out in the comic book store with the frog brothers at night, but would sometimes hang out with us when he could get away from Michael, who'd become slightly overprotective of his little brother.

Michael was still wary of the boys, but managed to remain civil to me & the girls. Star on the other hand was determined to stay as far away from me as possible.

Guess she's not as dumb as I thought.

The frog brothers would hang out at Sam's place during the day when they didn't have to work in the comic shop, which I considered a good thing since the only family they had were their parents, who were _extremely_ neglectful to them due to being drugged-out 90% of the time. In fact when Katie, Rose & I went to visit Lucy earlier today, we nearly pissed ourselves laughing when we saw Edgar & Alan come running out the door, with an angry John Emerson chasing after them with a baseball bat. Lucy was unsuccessfully trying to diffuse the situation while Sam was on the ground holding his stomach from laughing so hard.

Apparently they'd stolen his root beer, and had only been spared after they offered to buy him more.

The rest of the gang had laughed their asses off when we told them, but I could see that Amber was a little sad about not being there with us.

I wanted to turn as soon as possible, but White Crow's warning kept running through my head. He said that the people hunting us were supposed to be here three days ago, so needless to say I was feeling uneasy, and judging by how jumpy everyone was acting, I wasn't the only one.

The full-vampires of the group had already fed tonight and Laddie had wanted to visit Sam at the comic shop (they'd bonded over their mutual love of comics & had quickly become friends) so we let him hang out with Sam while the rest of us walked around the boardwalk.

We'd decided to hang out at the beach for a while, but didn't get to enjoy it for long when an ugly orange van suddenly pulled up, and two people, a man & a woman, stepped out before walking straight toward us.

I heard Rose's breath hitch & turned to see that she'd lost all her color.

"Hello _Rose_." The woman spat with as much venom as possible before giving her a sinister smile.

I heard the man chuckle as David moved to stand protectively in front of Rose, he didn't seem intimidated by David's protective stance & confidently stopped about five steps away from our group.

"You know these people Rose?" She nodded at me before answering.

"This is Joe & Katrina Mayweather."

'Katrina' laughed slightly while 'Joe' got an (obviously) fake hurt look on his face.

"Aw c'mon now, no need to be so formal Rose. You _can_ call us mom & dad you know!"

So _these_ were Rose's parents?

I studied them for a bit, it was clear to me that Rose had inherited her hair & skin color from her dad, since her mom was pale & had bright-blonde hair (although it wouldn't surprise me at all if it was dyed) I noticed that she got her blue eyes from her mom though, since her dad's eyes were a striking peridot green.

Appearance-wise, they weren't ugly, but the energy I felt coming off of them nearly made me physically ill. (If you've ever seen something so gross that it made you wanna throw up, _that's_ how it felt!)

"It's been a long time hasn't it Rose? I see you've managed to make some new friends since you've been gone, and even let yourself become a vampire's whore."

Everyone visibly tensed and I heard David let out a warning growl before Joe pulled out a pistol.

"Ah ah ah, I'd watch myself if I were you bloodsucker, unless you want a silver bullet between the eyes!" I gasped & heard David growl under his breath before the boys decided to back off a bit, Marko pulling Amber behind him.

I couldn't really blame them, silver burns vampires, and silver in the bloodstream is _extremely_ toxic to full-vampires, so a silver bullet could be fatal.

"H-How did you find me? And how the _HELL_ do you know about vampires?!" Rose was on the verge of freaking out, and to be honest, I wasn't too far behind.

I watched as Joe looked at each one of us before giving Rose an evil smirk. "We know about vampires because your mother & I had some rather _unpleasant_ encounters with a few 'covens' when we were younger, in fact your grandparents on both sides were vampire hunters. Kind of ironic, don't you think?"

To say that Rose was surprised would be an understatement, and she wasn't the only one!

"As to how we managed to find you, I admit it wasn't easy, but after you ran away we filed a missing persons report. When that didn't work, we decided that since you not only ran away, but also caused us to be the laughingstock of the town after a few people came forward about seeing your bruises, well, we couldn't just let you off the hook so easily & started looking for you ourselves."

Did they _really_ hunt her down just for that?! What kind of sick-minded fucks would do that to their own daughter?!

"After a few years, we finally managed to track your worthless ass to New York City, where we met a friend of yours who told us where to go from there after some... _persuasion_ , on our part." He said ominously before reaching into his pocket & holding up a small object for us to see. After a moment, I realized it was a small earring with a gold cross, and from my position, I could clearly see that the cross was covered in something dark.

Dried blood.

"Unfortunately we were a little _too_ rough on him, guess he wasn't as tough as he looked." Joe laughed and I froze when I finally realized who that earring belonged to.

* * *

 ***Flashback***

 _"Do you like it?" Amber asked while hopping up & down in excitement as the man pulled out a small earring with a two-colored brown stone & a solid gold cross out of the carefully wrapped box._

 _"I love it! You girls didn't have to get me anything though-"_

 _"_ Alewisdodi! _You've done so much for us, the least we could do is pull together & get you a birthday present!"_

 **(Alewisdodi = Stop)**

 _"Well, alright...but still, you didn't have to do this for me."_

 _"You're right, we didn't, but we wanted to anyway!"_

 _He laughed as the four girls that he considered his own tackled him in a giant group hug._

 _"Happy birthday Draven!"_

 ***End of Flashback***

* * *

I felt my breath become lodged in my throat as the reality of what they'd done finally sank in.

' _They killed him.'_

' _They killed Draven!'_

I looked up when I heard Rose gasp in shock & found all three of the girls staring at them in complete horror.

"No...Y-you didn't!" I saw tears of rage & utter sorrow building up in Rose's eyes and my vision became blurry as I felt my own tears threatening to fall.

 _ **Don't let your emotions cloud your judgement.**_

I faintly heard White Crow's words echo through my mind & shook my head to clear my vision as Katrina spoke again.

"We didn't really _mean_ to, he just refused to answer us properly, and you _know_ how your father gets when he's angry!" She laughed and I saw all the color drain from Rose's face, no doubt imagining the torture that Draven had been put through before he died.

"Although that bastard was stubborn to the end, he sent us on a wild goose chase to Canada before we realized we'd been tricked." Joe grumbled and I felt a slight twinge of amusement through my sorrow.

'Edutsi, _you must be a descendent of_ Wayaha _himself.'_

 **(Edutsi = Uncle, Wayaha = Coyote)**

My head shot up when I heard a demonic roar and saw that Rose had vamped-out & was rushing towards them.

Everything moved in slow-motion after that.

I saw her father raise his gun & felt my feet move of their own free will, I must've vamped-out myself because before I knew it, I was in front of him & heard the gun go off. I vaguely felt a sharp pain in my ribcage as I used my claws to sever Joe's hand from his body.

The last thing I heard before I blacked out was the bloodcurdling scream that had haunted my visions since I came to Santa Carla.

I never once thought that it would be my own.


	44. Revenge Is Sweet

***Third person POV***

Everyone froze when they heard Luna scream in pain before collapsing in the sand.

Rose's father was staring in shock at the place where his hand used to be, and his wife started screaming when she realized that his severed hand had landed right in front of her, still holding the gun in a vice-like grip.

Before anyone could move, they heard a roar that made David shake in terror, and watched as Rose lunged at her father. Katie was the first to move & quickly managed to grab ahold of Katrina after a short skirmish, which resulted in Katie getting stabbed in the shoulder by a silver dagger that the bitch had hidden on her, and Katie nearly clawing her arm off in retaliation. She didn't even flinch as she yanked the dagger out & quickly dragged the petrified woman over to Rose.

"W-Why didn't that work?!"

Katie gave her a sadistic smile before grabbing her by the hair & roughly pulling her head back. "Because unfortunately for you, I'm only a _half_ -vampire, and if Rose gives me permission, that won't be the case for much longer." She whispered the last part in her ear, causing Katrina to lose all her color & start panicking.

"Some hunter you are bitch, all attitude & nothin' to back it up!"

Looking between the two people that had made her life a living hell, Rose finally gave her father a contemplative look.

"You know, I once heard someone tell me revenge is sweet." She said as a bone-chilling smile slowly split her face before she leaned down close to his ear.

 _ **"Let's find out, shall we?"**_

She growled before violently sinking her fangs into his jugular, feeling his blood run down her throat as his screams quickly turned into slow gurgles of pain before dying out completely.

' _They were right, revenge_ is _sweet.'_

She licked the remaining blood from her lips before turning to see that Amber had moved over to help Katie restrain her mother as she struggled & begged for her life.

' _Pathetic.'_

"What should we do with her?"

Rose pretended to think it over before her eyes seemed to take on a reddish glow &

she turned to face them, the shadows distorting her features & making her look completely demonic.

 _ **"Rip her to pieces."**_

That was all they needed to hear before they violently tore into her neck as her screams filled the night air, quickly being drowned out by the sound of the waves & the loud music of the boardwalk.

The gang didn't waste any time as they quickly rushed over to Dwayne, who was holding an unconscious Luna in his arms. They were relieved to find she was still alive, but the bullet was still lodged inside of her, and that was a serious problem.

Since the bullet was made of _silver_ & the girls had turned once they disposed of Rose's parents, none of them could touch it to pull it out. Luna would need blood to heal, but if she were to turn with the bullet still inside her, the silver would poison her blood & end up killing her within minutes.

Thinking fast, David ordered Dwayne to take her to the Emersons (John being a taxidermist meant that surely _he'd_ know how to safely remove a bullet) while he rushed to the cave to grab the bottle. It wouldn't heal her, but it would stabilize her long enough to be able to feed.

Not wanting to leave their sister's side, the girls flew after Dwayne, quickly getting the hang of it, but unable to enjoy it as they were too worried about Luna. After what seemed like an eternity - though it hadn't even been five minutes - the group finally landed in front of the house, and Dwayne violently kicked the door off its hinges before rushing inside. John was about to protest, but quickly led them into his taxidermy room when he saw Luna's condition & shoved everything off the table before directing Dwayne to gently lay her on its surface. John grabbed his tools as the girls explained what happened, and after getting the full details, he pushed all of them out of the room so that he could concentrate without a bunch of vampires freaking out over every little thing he did.

It wasn't very long after that when David came through the door with what looked like half of Santa Carla following behind him; Paul, Marko, Laddie, Sam & Michael, Lucy & Max, even Star & the frog brothers came rushing through the door, and the girls somehow managed to calm them all down long enough to listen as they explained what happened.

* * *

 ***Luna's POV***

 _I felt strange, I could hear everything going on around me, but for some reason my body refused to work, and my eyes felt like they were cemented shut._

 _Oh wait, now I remember;_

 _I was shot._

 _As the memory of what happened came back to me, so did the pain in my ribcage. It was dull & ached like holy hell, but I couldn't even make my discomfort known because my voice refused to work. I vaguely felt a hard surface under my body before there was an _extremely _sharp pain in my ribs. I wanted to scream, but once again my voice refused to work, so I could only lay there in agony as I'm guessing someone worked to remove the silver bullet from my body._

 _Well this sucks._

 **"I'm sorry, you shouldn't ever have to endure something like this usdiga."**

(Usdiga = baby)

 _I heard my father's voice echo through the darkness, hearing his voice seemed to distract me from the pain, and I decided to try something._

' _ **It's ok**_ **edoda** _ **, I'm a big girl, I can handle it.'**_ _I thought to myself, and was surprised to hear my own voice cut through the silence. I mentally flinched when I felt a stabbing pain from my wound & heard my father sigh._

 **"That doesn't mean I don't feel bad Luna."**

' _ **It's not your fault, I'm the**_ **Golagi** **nigesvna** _**that jumped in front of a gun.'**_

(Golagi nigesvna = idiot)

 **"First you nearly kill yourself to save Amber when she gets stabbed in the chest & almost dies, and now you get yourself shot while protecting your **_**igido**_ **from her crazy parents!"**

(Igido = sister)

' _ **Yeah, it's been a rough week.'**_

 _I heard him laugh & felt myself smile at the sound._

 _I suddenly smelled something that made my mouth water, and I started to feel my body move on its own. I heard my father speak one last time before I started to wake up._

 **"There will be many challenges on the path of life Luna, but I know in my heart that you will always find a way to get through them. You're my** _ **Uwetsiageyv**_ **after all** **, and I'll always be proud of you.** _ **Donadagohv i usdiga. Gvgeyuhi.**_

(Uwetsiageyv = daughter)

(Donadagohv i = until we meet again)

(Gvgeyuhi = I love you)

I slowly opened my eyes & felt something running down my throat as I finally came to my senses.

I quickly realized that I was biting into a surf-nazi's neck & dropped the body onto the sand. My legs gave out & I felt someone catch me before I could hit the ground.

"It's ok _usdiga_ , I've got you." I smiled when I heard Dwayne's voice & turned to see him giving me a worried look.

"I'm ok now Dwayne." I gave him a reassuring smile & leaned into his embrace before hearing someone clear their throat, turning to see the rest of the lost gang giving me concerned looks.

"How ya feeling Luna?" Katie asked and I sighed before giving her a teasing smirk.

"Well, my ribs still hurt like a bitch, my legs won't hold me up, and I feel like someone smashed me over the head with a sledgehammer, but other than that I feel fine." Everyone laughed except Rose, who quickly walked over to me with tears streaming down her face, and I braced myself for what I knew was coming.

 _ ***SMACK***_

I barely felt the harsh sting of her hand as she slapped me across the face, causing all laughter to stop. I quickly reassured my angry mate when I heard him growl at her.

' _I definitely deserved that.'_

"You think this is _funny_?! Nearly getting yourself caught by the cops to save the rest of us I can handle. Giving almost all your blood to save _Amber_ I can handle. Hell, even you hiding the fact that you had _leukemia_ I can fucking handle! But almost getting killed because of _me? That's_ where I draw the line!"

Her voice was shaky, and I felt my own tears building up when I saw the broken look on her face. "I would _NEVER_ forgive myself if you died because of me! Why would you do that?! My past is _MY_ fucking problem! _Not_ yours! If I would've gotten shot back there it would've been my own mistake to deal with!"

I quickly stopped her before giving her a serious look.

"First of all; my _life_ is my own, _I'LL_ decide wether or not to risk it for the people I love. Second; weren't _you_ the one that said family looks out for each other no matter what?"

I stopped her again when she tried to protest & continued my argument.

"You also said that I shouldn't have to carry all the weight of my problems, well the same goes for you! Besides, I would rather _die_ before I ever let any one of my _Sidanelvhi_ get hurt, and that includes you!"

 **(Sidanelvhi = family)**

I managed to stand on my own & quickly pulled her into my arms. "I don't care what you say Rose, you're my sister, and that means wether you like it or not, I'm always going to try to protect you, so you'd better get used to it bitch!"

I heard her laugh slightly & felt relieved when she finally hugged me back.

"Besides, you're the dumbass that rushed at a guy with a gun."

I laughed as she smacked me in the shoulder. " _You're_ the stupid bitch that jumped in front of the gun!"

The tension finally cleared & we all shared a laugh before deciding to head back to the cave. Apparently David sent a message to Max telling him what happened, and Max reassured everyone else that I was ok.

I smiled & felt a huge weight lift from my shoulders as we rode off into the night.

For the first time in my life, I felt free.


	45. Time To Join The Club

***Third Person POV***

"Luna, _hasiyu usdiga_?"

 **(Are you ok baby?)**

" _Vv, ayv hawa_."

 **(Yeah, I'm alright.)**

She tried to reassure him, but despite her best efforts, Dwayne could tell she was nervous.

Tonight was the night that the girls would "join the club" - as David put it - meaning that they'd be hunting for their own meal this time.

Luna sighed & turned to face her mate. "I just hope I don't disappoint you, that's all."

He cupped her face in his hands & pulled her into a gentle kiss before placing his forehead to hers. "Nothing you do could ever disappoint me Luna, just let your instincts take over and you'll be fine."

She nodded hesitantly before David called them over to the tree that he & Rose were perched in on top of a hill (unbeknownst to the girls, it was the same spot that Michael's failed feeding had taken place)

Paul & Marko quickly pulled Katie & Amber up the tree while Dwayne gave Luna a reassuring smile and led her over to join the rest of the pack.

 ***Luna's POV***

I was nervous, in case you couldn't tell.

I may have made my "first kill" already, but I was unconscious during the feed, I hadn't known that I was biting into somebody until after the fact.

I wasn't nervous about the killing itself, I mean we were only attacking a bunch of surf nazis (I even spotted the guy with the green mohawk from the first night we came to Santa Carla amongst the drunken party-goers)

No, I was nervous for an entirely different reason, one that's been haunting me ever since the first night I ran away from the cops when I was ten.

* * *

 ***Flashback***

 _"Alright, lets go!" The nasty old hag they'd sent from child services roughly grabbed her by the arm & started dragging her towards a black car._

 _They hadn't even finished burying him yet and she was already being manhandled!_

 _Luna struggled against the old woman's bony grip, she'd heard about how a lot of kids were treated at orphanages, and there was no way in_ HELL _she was gonna let herself be put through that!_

 _She reached out & kicked as hard as she could, hitting the old hag in the shin and causing her to let go in favor of clutching her leg. _

_As soon as she was free, Luna quickly took off through the woods surrounding the cemetery. She heard people calling after her, but she'd grown up in these woods her entire life, they had no chance in hell of catching her._

 _Running through the deer trails, leaping & bounding over boulders & logs, and finally performing an Olympic-worthy long jump over the creek that split the woods in half between two counties, Luna looked back on the woodlands that she'd grown up navigating her entire life one last time before quickly making her way towards the train-yard that sat just outside the salt mines that a few of her father's friends had worked at._

 _Being mindful of the few security guards that patrolled the area, Luna managed to jump a train that was beginning its trek to only God-knows-where & made herself as comfortable as possible within the shadowy corner of the car she was hiding out in, which unfortunately wasn't very much at all._

 ***Short time skip***

 _Luna's eyes snapped open when she heard movement somewhere nearby and she silently reached into her pocket, tightly gripping the switchblade her father had given her in case she ever needed to protect herself. She quickly sat up & moved into a more defensive position before pulling the blade out & listening as she clearly heard the slight creaking of the floor, suggesting that not only was she not alone, but someone was trying to sneak up on her._

 _She evened out her breathing before focusing on the sound, trying to discern the exact location of the noise & searching the darkness for any sign of movement._

 _She just_ barely _heard the near-silent shuffle of footsteps over the noise of the moving train coming from her left and saw something move out of the corner of her eye. Rounding on her would-be attacker & kicking out with her steel-toed boot, she felt it make contact with something solid & heard a grunt of pain before she quickly leapt on the person so she could have a better chance of getting her knife against their throat._

 _She felt her attacker grab her by the leg and cried out when she was tossed clear to the other side of the car, grunting in pain when she felt her back make contact with the opposite wall and attempting to get up, only to have a heavy weight land on her stomach & a pair of large hands tightly wrap around her throat, just shy of cutting off her air supply._

 _"Don't try to fight me_ little girl _. I saw you when you first jumped the train & couldn't help noticing just how pretty you are. There's a lot of _real _bad people out there that would love to get their hands on a sweet little piece of red prairie meat like yourself. Figured that I shouldn't just let you go traveling alone, you might get hurt."_

 _The obviously male voice - that stunk of cheap alcohol & gum disease - spoke in a sickly sweet tone with mocking concern. Luna felt him remove one hand from her neck while tightening the other before placing his free hand just above her knee._

 _"So I'll tell you what, if you promise to be a good little girl & do exactly what I tell you to do, I'll keep you safe from other bad people & make sure you're well taken care of. Hell, I'll even let you call me _daddy _if you like."_

 _Luna felt his hand slowly start to go higher and started shaking, not in fear, but in pure unbridled rage._

 _How_ DARE _this man even make a disgusting suggestion like that?!_

 _"What do ya say?"_

 _Tightening her grip on the switchblade, she reached up with her free hand & lightly ran it over his cheek before gently tangling her fingers in his hair & slowly moving it closer to her face, turning it slightly so that she might whisper in his ear._

 _He didn't even have time to flinch before Luna's switchblade found its way into his temple, and she felt a sadistic sense of glee when she heard the telltale crunch of bone that signaled a clean hit._

 _"I say_ **go to hell**! _"_

 _She giggled when she heard his sputtering breaths slowly die out and felt his grip on her neck come loose. She slowly managed to roll his dead weight off of her before pulling her blade loose from his head, smelling the coppery scent of the blood coating her knife and feeling something dark & twisted stirring in her heart as she licked the blood from the blade._

 _"Hmmm...well, he wasn't much fun." She spoke in a sickly sweet voice that didn't seem to really belong to her as she felt the train slow to a stop._

 _Luna hummed an eerily happy tune to herself as she pocketed her knife & quickly searched the dead man's pockets, taking what little money he had and finding a Winchester bowie knife hidden in his boot. She tucked it away in her own boot before quickly exiting the train car & running off into the night._

 ***End of flashback***

* * *

After that night, I was completely horrified at myself for what I'd done.

Not because I'd killed that man, but because I'd _liked_ it.

Nobody, not even the girls, knows about that sick & twisted part of myself that _relished_ in the power I had over life & death in a single moment. Even though I was only protecting myself, some part of me got a sick thrill from driving my knife into his brain.

It happened very rarely, but I admit that I've had to kill people before (all those times happened before I met the girls) and each time it did, I would get more & more violent.

I even dismembered a guy while he was still alive after he tried to assault me while holding me at gunpoint.

Using some old shaman techniques that White Crow taught me, I managed to seal that part of myself away from the world. I've kept it under control for the most part over the years, but whenever I get into a fight (or any remotely violent situation) I can feel that part of my soul clawing at the recesses of my mind, trying to take over & unleash all its sadistic rage.

I breathed deeply before steeling my nerves & patiently waiting for David to give the signal. We agreed that the boys would attack first so that it'd be easier for us girls to allow instinct to take over once we smelled the blood.

I watched in silent awe as the boys leapt from the tree before descending upon the unsuspecting surf-nazis, ripping flesh from bone & taking joy in the kill as their victim's blood stained the sand red beneath their feet.

Their screams filled the night air before being drowned out by the loud rock music that blasted from a stereo system perched on a log near the bonfire. I could hear their racing heartbeats pounding in their chests as they desperately tried in vain to escape their attackers.

The smell of their blood hit me like a freight-train, and I felt my face morph as the sound of the blood pulsing through their veins, combined with the sound of their racing heartbeats, called out to me like a siren's song. Sweeter than any musical instrument and ten-times more alluring.

I glanced at my sisters to see them in the exact same state as I was, and I noticed that they kept looking at me every few seconds before turning back to watch the "show".

They were waiting for me.

Taking the hint, I felt instinct take over completely & let out a demonic roar before leaping into the air & quickly descending on my prey. I vaguely heard them do the same as I tackled the man with the giant green mohawk, and we rolled for a minute before I finally sunk my fangs into his throat, groaning when the taste of his blood hit my tongue as I drank deeply from his jugular, feeling it strengthen my entire being as it flowed freely down my throat.

I listened intently as his heartbeat became slower & slower before finally stopping completely, and let my victim's body drop heavily to the ground. I was surprised & slightly confused when I felt that darker side purr in contentment, as if it was satisfied with the amount of violence that I had unleashed, even if it really wasn't much at all.

I sighed in relief when I felt it recede back into the depths of my mind, and heard the boys hollering in glee before I felt a pair of arms wrap around my waist and I was suddenly spun around & pulled into a bruising kiss. I moaned at the feeling before reaching up & tangling my hands in Dwayne's hair as I kissed him back with just as much force.

I smiled when I heard someone making catcalls and we pulled away from each other to see Paul making faces at us. Dwayne went chasing after his brother before tackling him to the ground & giving him a noogie from hell as Marko ran over to join in on the wrestling match, much to the amusement of my sisters.

David walked over to try & break up the "fight" and I moved to stand with the girls, who were laughing at their mates & even making bets on who would be the victor.

"Luna, are you ok?"

I gave Rose a reassuring smile before turning to watch the boys antics (Paul had somehow managed to pull David into the fight and now all four of them were wrestling with each other)

"Yeah...I am. In fact I've never felt better."

Eventually David was the one to win the wrestling match, causing Katie & Amber to lose $50 each to Rose, much to their annoyance.

We managed to get cleaned up as much as possible before mounting the bikes & taking off into the night.

Life was definitely going to be interesting from now on.


	46. Interlude

**AN: I'M BACK BITCHES!**

 **Seriously though, I'm sorry I was gone for so long, the truth is that sometimes I can go for several weeks turning out chapters one by one every day, but then BAM! I hit a "dry spell" & can't write ANYTHING no matter how hard I try! But that's no excuse for not keeping you guys updated, so I apologize again & hope you enjoy this - rather short - chapter (I will be uploading a couple more throughout the day, so stay tuned!)**

* * *

 ***Flashback***

 _"Girls! Get out here!"_

 _Not needing to be told twice, Luna & her 'sisters' quickly rushed out of the old subway car they'd remade into a makeshift bedroom and made their way over to their 'uncle'._

 _"What's wrong Draven?" An eighteen year old Amber asked as she watched him pace the room with a panicked look on his face._

" _Luna, you remember them dragon-clan assholes you beat the piss out of a few years back?"_

 _She nodded. "Yeah, what about them?"_

 _He sighed & pinched the bridge of his nose in frustration. "Well one of them must've been at the fight a few days ago & seen you there, because Mr. Li just informed me that someone from that group ratted us out & told the NYPD where the underground is, so they're planning on raiding the place tonight!"_

 **"WHAT?!"** _The girls screamed in unison as Draven turned to give them a serious look._

 _"We're clearing the place out as we speak, but the raid is also part of a manhunt for the four of you, so they probably snitched on us to get back at you Luna."_

 _"What're they hunting_ us _for?!"_

 _"Because that rookie cop that tried chasing you guys across the rooftops two days ago is in a coma after falling off a four-story building. Honestly I'm surprised he even survived at all."_

 _"And they're blaming_ US _for that?!"_

 _"Yeah. Apparently they've got it in their heads that one of you pushed him off the roof."_

 _Luna couldn't believe what she was hearing, didn't they realize that_ HE _had been chasing_ THEM?! _They had been doing that crazy shit for years, it wasn't their fault that a rookie, who obviously had no training in parkour whatsoever & had no business being on that roof - as stated by the chief of police himself during the news report - tried to be a hero in front of his superiors & ended up falling while trying to jump across a three-foot gap!_

 _But they couldn't have the police department looking like ignorant morons who can't even train their troops right now could they? So of course the obvious choice would be to twist the story & make four teenage girls look like brutal cop-killers._

'Well, technically he's not dead, yet, but still!'

 _Luna sighed in defeat before giving Draven a grim look. "So what are you thinking_ edutsi _?"_

 **(Edutsi = Uncle)**

 _He sighed before walking over to stand in front of them & reaching into his pocket, pulling out a huge wad of cash before handing it to a reluctant Luna._

 _"As much as I hate to say it, you girls need to get out of town. There's a few grand there, so it should last you for a while as long as you use it wisely."_

 _He put a hand up to silence them before they could protest. "_ Listen! _The cops got it in their heads that you tried to kill one of their own, and you know as well as I do how they get when that happens, even if the cop in question was technically the one in the wrong."_

 _Unfortunately he had a point._

 _"If you stay here in New York, they'll never stop hunting you - even if the rookie does somehow miraculously manage to wake up with no permanent brain damage - and If they spot you & you try to run from them, they'll use that as an excuse to get you by any means possible. Dead _or _alive."_

 _As much as it hurt them to think about it, they knew he was right._

 _"W-well, then come with us!"_

 _"No Amber." Everyone looked at Luna in confusion as she gave them a sad smile._

 _"He wasn't there when it happened, but if the cops see him running with us, they'll consider it 'aiding a fugitive' & make him a target as well."_

 _Draven gave them a sad smile before nodding in agreement. "You know I don't really care about that, but I also know that you'll keep arguing with me about it till I do."_

 _Luna smirked at him before walking over to pull him into a bear-hug._

 _"Damn right I will! Besides, we're big girls, we'll be ok. We did learn from the best after all."_

 _He laughed slightly before hugging each one of the girls. "You take care of each other now, just remember what I taught you and you'll be fine."_

 _Hearing police sirens in the distance, the girls looked around at the place they'd come to call home before saying goodbye to Draven (unknowingly for the last time) and making their way through the darkened subway tunnels of NYC._


	47. Twilight Hours

**AN: This chapter is pure Dwayne/Luna fluff! So please be nice xD**

* * *

 ***Present Day, Luna's POV***

' _If only I'd've let him come with us.'_

I stared down at the little earring in my hands & felt the tears building up again as I thought about how different things could've been if Draven _had_ come with us; Would we have even made it to Santa Carla? Would we have gotten caught by the cops in another city? Maybe even gotten ourselves killed at some point?

I shook my head to clear my thoughts, what's done is done. It sucks, but I can't go back & change what happened, so I need to move on.

He would want me to.

I sighed before putting the earring in my ear (Dwayne pierced them last night after I begged him nonstop for three hours)

Since my old clothes were practically destroyed due to me being shot & covered in blood, it was either borrow some of Star's clothes or buy new ones.

I bet you can guess what I chose.

I'm still a little pissed about my old coat being ruined because of a bullet hole (it was my favorite coat, I'd saved up for a month just to buy the damn thing!) but a coat is replaceable, a sister is not.

It was a little past sunset now, and the sky was _just_ turning gray as the last rays of sunlight disappeared for the night. I knew I was cutting it kinda close, but it seems that even as a vampire I'm an "early riser".

To be honest, the twilight hours have always been my favorite time of day, when the sun has _just_ disappeared over the horizon, but it's still light enough to see everything clearly.

"Hey, Luna!"

I turned to see Dwayne making his way towards me. "Hey Dwayne, what's up?"

He put his arms around me before giving me an unreadable expression. "Come for a ride with me, I want to show you something."

I nodded & followed him to his bike. I was slightly confused when I didn't see the others, but put it out of my mind as we sped off down the beach. Dwayne drove a little ways into the woods before turning away from the usual path & parking the bike beside a large oak tree.

"Dwayne, what's going on?"

He didn't answer as he lifted me off the bike before leading me through the trees. "Relax _uwoduhi_ , you'll like this, I promise."

 **(Uwoduhi = beautiful)**

I was skeptical, but immediately relaxed when he pulled me tight to his side & kissed the top of my head. We hadn't gone ten steps when Dwayne suddenly covered my eyes & made me walk forward toward who-knows-where.

" _Dwaaaaaaayne_!" I whined & heard him chuckle as we finally stopped.

"Keep your eyes closed for a minute."

I sighed dramatically before doing what he said and heard movement somewhere in front of me. I was tempted to peek, but stopped & couldn't help but laugh slightly when I heard him give me a playful warning growl.

 _Don't forget I can hear your thoughts_ usdiga _._

 _Hey! Get out of my head you asshole!_

He laughed at me and I heard something lightly hit the ground before he walked back to me & placed his hands on my shoulders.

"Ok, you can open your eyes now."

" _Finally_!" I teased before slowly opening my eyes, only to gasp at what I saw.

We were standing in a wide clearing. Because it was still twilight out, nearly everything around us was turned a light-gray color, the ground was covered in long-grass that was soft to the touch, and I saw an old stump sticking out of the ground that must've been some form of hardwood tree, because it had a few _Fomitopsis pinicola_ mushrooms growing on it **(AN:there's no common name for this mushroom, but they're beautiful multi-colored mushrooms that only grow on the trunks of hardwood trees, don't ask why 'cause I don't know -_-")**

What made it even more beautiful was the dozens of fireflies that lit up the area, it reminded me of some of the places that my _edoda_ had shown me when I was little during a few camping trips through the woods (which happened very rarely due to his illness)

I smiled when I saw that Dwayne had set up a picnic area in the center of the clearing and turned to see him smile.

"This is my favorite place in all of Santa Carla, it's actually the only spot in these woods that has this type of grass growing, don't ask me how because I have _no_ idea."

I laughed & wrapped my arms around him. "It's beautiful, it actually reminds me of home."

He smiled before we sat down & started pulling out the food that he'd brought, I was surprised when I saw roast chicken & vegetables, along with cheesy garlic bread & fresh fruit salad with extra blueberries (which are my all-time favorite)

I smirked when Dwayne pulled out a bottle of blackberry merlot, which is my favorite wine, but I'd only told that to _one_ person.

"You asked Lucy to help you out didn't you?"

I smiled when he gave me a guilty look. "How'd you guess?"

"The wine. I told Lucy it was my favorite after she served it with the spaghetti the night Max came over. Plus I know for a fact _you_ can't cook."

"Hey! I'll have you know that I actually made the garlic bread _and_ the fruit salad!"

"Yeah, but who told you to use orange juice in the fruit salad?"

...

"No comment."

I laughed at him and leaned over to give him a kiss on the cheek.

"It's alright Dwayne, no one has ever done _anything_ like this for me, thank you."

He reached over and pulled me into his arms. "Luna, you're my mate, I'd do anything for you."

I smiled and suddenly thought about what I'd read in the book _Wayaha_ gave to me.

 **(Coyote)**

"That reminds me, I read that vampires only dream about their mates, is that true?"

"Yes. Vampires don't- no _can't_ dream unless it's about their mate. And yeah, you were right to guess that your sisters were my brother's mates."

"Fucking called it!"

We laughed before digging in to the amazing food, I threatened to stab him in the hand with my fork when he tried to steal from my plate, much to his amusement.

"So Dwayne, what exactly _did_ you see in your dreams?"

He looked thoughtful for a minute before giving me a solemn look. "First I think I need to tell you a bit about me."

I nodded for him to go on.

"I was actually around before the white man first came to America."

"Now are we talking Columbus or Leif Ericsson?"

"Columbus, I'm not _that_ old!"

I laughed at his indignant expression. "Calm down Dwayne, I'm just teasing ya!"

He shook his head before continuing. "Anyway, my father was the chief of our tribe, I was twenty-one when Columbus first came to America. David & Max were on the boat with him."

I was shocked to say the least, and was tempted to ask him about Columbus (like what he looked like, since the man never actually sat for a portrait during his entire lifetime) but quickly decided against it.

"My tribe was attacked a few months later, and I was shot while trying to reach my father. I would've died if David hadn't turned me."

"I thought Max turned you?"

He shook his head in the negative. "No, believe it or not, David is the only one that Max sired. Marko, Paul & I were all sired by David."

The more I thought about it, the more it made sense. It definitely explains why the boys listen to David more than Max.

"After I was turned, I would dream that I was wandering the woods around my village. I would hear you calling my name, but your voice was very distant & echoed, and I would sometimes see a shadow moving through the trees, but every time I tried to catch up to it, it'd stay far ahead of me and I'd wake up before I could get close enough to even tell what it looked like."

"Really? That's kinda strange."

"Not really, I asked Max about it after the third night, and he told me that it was likely because my mate, you, hadn't been born yet."

"So I guess he was right huh?"

He smiled at me before continuing.

"About twenty years ago, I dreamt of a storm. I was following someone through the rain, and at first I thought it was you, but then the person walked up to a house & placed something on the doorstep before knocking on the door & running off."

My head turned so fast I'm surprised I didn't get whiplash.

' _Did he really dream about-'_

"I heard a baby cry and the door opened, but all I saw before I woke up was a pair of bright-blue eyes. That was the only time I ever had that dream, after that it went right back to me chasing you through the woods, the only difference was that your voice was loud & clear and I'd sometimes catch a glimpse of raven hair & blue eyes."

"You didn't see what the person in the storm looked like, did you?"

He gave me a confused look. "Unfortunately no. Why?"

I sighed before glancing up at the stars that were just starting to appear in the sky.

"...My mom was an American-born French woman, her father didn't approve of her relationship with my dad since he was a wealthy owner of an oil company, and no daughter of his was gonna run off with a poor-as-dirt full-blooded Cherokee Native that lived on a reservation in New York."

"Luna-"

"Hang on, I'm not done." He nodded for me to go on.

"According to my _edoda_ , When my mom found out she was pregnant, she went into hiding & kept it a secret from everyone, including him & my grandfather. It wasn't until I showed up on his doorstep nine months later that he figured it out. The last he ever heard about my mom is that she got married to some billionaire's son, had five kids, and is now living somewhere here in California."

Dwayne pulled me into his arms before tilting my head up & wiping away the tears that I didn't even realize were falling.

"Luna, I know that she wasn't there for you, but the fact that she brought you into this world instead of just getting an abortion means that she must've loved you enough to at least give you a chance at life."

I smiled & leaned over to kiss him, for some reason his words seemed to heal a part of me that I didn't even know was damaged.

"Besides, if she hadn't left you to grow up like you did, you wouldn't have met your sisters, or me."

"You know what? You're right. I've been through a lot of shit in my life, but even if I could go back and do it all again, I wouldn't change a _damn_ thing."

He chuckled before pulling me tight to his chest. "Neither would I."

He pulled away just enough to look me in the eye. "Luna, I know it's probably a stupid question, but I've gotta ask anyway."

I gave him a confused look as he grabbed my hands and gave me a look that would've made my heart race if I were still human.

"Luna, will you be my mate, and spend eternity with me?"

I smiled & laughed as I leapt up & wrapped my arms around him. We toppled over and I landed on his chest before crashing my lips to his, he chuckled before putting his arms around me and we finally pulled away after a few minutes.

"That is a stupid question. Of _course_ I will!"

He laughed & kissed my forehead before looking me in the eye.

 _"Gvgeyuhi, aqu uwoduhi unaligohi."_

 **(I love you, my beautiful mate.)**

I smiled & placed my forehead against his.

 _"Ale gvgeyuhi, utli igai gvnawosgv uninetsv yelique hinegi."_

 **(And I love you, more than words can say.)**

He smiled before pulling me into another kiss.

* * *

 ***Time Skip (because I am NOT a smutty writer, sorry folks lol)***

"Well well, looks like you two had fun tonight."

I glared at David's smug grin, causing my sisters to giggle and Paul & Marko started making catcalls when they spotted the bite mark on my neck.

"More fun than you've had in centuries David, that's for damn sure."

David chuckled while the rest of the gang busted out laughing.

"Touché little sister."

We decided to call it a night, and my sisters swore that they'd make me talk tomorrow, much to my amusement. We all jumped up to hang from the bar and Dwayne pulled me into his arms before we settled down for sleep as the sun rose over Santa Carla.


	48. Under The Boardwalk PT 1

**AN: I wanted to update yesterday, but my WiFi was like 'NOPE! Fuck you bitch!' & decided to cut out every 10 seconds, so I apologize for that :{ **

**I decided that I'm going to split this chapter into 2 parts, hope you're not mad! This chapter will have Paul/Katie POVs, so I** **hope you enjoy it & don't be afraid to tell me what you think! :)**

* * *

 **Katie's POV:**

The girls & I were gathered around Lucy's living room as we had our girl talk (which was really just an excuse to interrogate our sister)

Luna was an asshole & somehow managed to either dodge our questions or give relatively vague answers, eventually just pulling out that weird book (which she still refuses to tell us where it came from) and telling us that if we wanted to know anything more, then we had to read it.

"Oh come on Luna! Why cant you just tell us yourself?!"

"Because it's more fun to piss you off."

The rest of the girls (plus Lucy) giggled as I flipped her the bird. Luna stuck her tongue out at me in retaliation before taking a sip of her drink.

"Listen bitch, you'd just better hope you can't get pregnant, or else we'll _all_ be in trouble!"

She spat her drink out & coughed violently for a minute before her face lost all its color. "Oh _Ma'heo'o_! I didn't even think of that!" She screamed before snatching the book from my hands & flipping through the pages at lightning speed.

"I was just kidding lulu! _Jeez_!"

She sent me a venomous glare before skimming through the pages, eventually sighing in relief at what she found before reaching over to slap me in the back of the head & collapsing on the couch.

"Ok! Apparently full-vampire females can't have children, _but_ if their mate happens to claim them while they're still human or a half-vampire, then it's possible for the woman to get pregnant."

' _Huh, ya learn something new every day!'_

Luna handed the book back to me before walking off into the kitchen.

 ***Luna's POV***

Even though the idea of getting pregnant scared the living _shit_ out of me, I couldn't help but feel slightly saddened by the fact that I can never have children of my own. I've always loved kids, even when I was a child myself. In fact some of the women on the reservation used to call me the "mother hen" of the tribe since I had a bad habit of beating the shit out of anything & anyone that even _tried_ to hurt the other kids.

I smiled when I thought about Laddie, that little boy had stolen my heart the minute I laid eyes on him, and I love seeing his eyes light up in amazement whenever Dwayne & I teach him a new word in Cherokee (I've also been teaching him Cheyenne on the side, which is always fun to annoy Dwayne with since he can't speak a word of it)

I don't care what anyone says, Laddie's _my_ son now, and if anyone tries to hurt my little boy I'll string them up by their intestines while they're still alive and watch them choke on their entrails!

I shook my head to clear my - rather violent - thoughts & grabbed the orange juice from the fridge before refilling my glass (Katie's a bitch, just saying)

I glanced around the kitchen before spotting a framed picture hanging on the wall of a younger John Emerson standing with a beautiful red-headed woman - whom I guessed was his late wife - and a little girl, which could only be Lucy being held in her mother's arms. I smiled at the family photo & walked back into the living room to rejoin my sisters.

* * *

 ***Time Skip, Katie's POV***

I was in the cave hanging out with Paul while my sisters were at the boardwalk with their mates (and Laddie, Dwayne added a sidecar to his bike a few hours ago) we had fed on another group of surf-nazis earlier (you'd think they'd've learned not to stay out after dark by now) and I was content to hum along as Led Zeppelin's Stairway To Heaven played quietly on the radio.

"Hey Katie, wanna see something cool?"

I nodded before following Paul down the tunnel to his room. I sat on the bed while he milled around for a bit before pulling a well-loved guitar case out from under the bed.

"Check _this_ bad boy out!"

I almost died when he opened it, because inside was a mint-condition 1957 Gibson Black Beauty Les Paul with gold finish. He gently lifted it from the case before laying it across his lap.

"Oh my god! That's the most beautiful guitar I've ever _seen_!"

"Right?! Got it from my dad for my fifteenth birthday, and that's not even the best part!"

He grinned before turning it over so I could see the back, which had quite a few signatures on it. "Look at the neck."

I almost fell over in shock when I saw Les Paul's signature written in white along the neck of the guitar. "Holy shit! Is that _real_?!"

"Yep. I got that when I met the man himself in San Francisco, back in 1965. That was about a year before I met the guys."

I gave him a curious look. "Paul, how _did_ you end up meeting the boys?"

He smiled. "Believe it or not, I was actually the youngest vampire of the pack before you & the girls came along, if you don't count little man of course."

"I thought Marko was the youngest?"

"Nope. To the humans he is, but in vampire years he's older than me by a _long_ shot."

"What do you mean?"

"Marko was only nineteen when he was turned, I was twenty-one, so in human years, he's considered the youngest." I nodded in understanding before motioning for him to continue.

"I was raised in a hippie camp-"

"That explains a lot."

"Very funny. Do you wanna hear the story or not?" He raised an eyebrow at me and I rolled my eyes in annoyance.

"Fine, got it. Proceed."

"Anyway, I was ten when the Vietnam War started, and when I turned eighteen in 1963, my parents got scared because they didn't want me to get drafted if-and-when the government decided to put it into effect. Honestly, I'm a lover, not a fighter, so they gave me what money they had, I packed my bags & took the next bus out to California."

I could tell that he wasn't proud of that fact, so I reached over to give him a one-armed hug. "It's ok Paul. To be honest, I probably would've done the same thing if it were me."

He leaned his head on my shoulder & I gently ran my fingers through his wild hair as he continued. "I played guitar back then, so that's how I made a living for the next two years. Nothing major mind you, I just played in bars & clubs once in a while. In fact, it was after I played in a small club in San-Fran that I ended up meeting Les. He'd just finished a concert a few hours prior and heard me play, apparently he liked what he heard because he offered to sign my guitar right after the show."

"That's amazing!"

"I know right? Anyways, about a year after that, I somehow ended up here in Santa Carla. One night I was jamming on stage at the boardwalk & met Marko after the show. We bonded pretty quickly, and I ended up telling him about my situation in life."

"Is that when you joined them?"

He shook his head in the negative. "No, I actually hung out with the boys for almost a week beforehand, it was only after some dickhead got pissed at me for - unknowingly - flirting with his girlfriend and decided to try & gut me with a switchblade that I was turned. Bastard got me good actually, if the boys hadn't been there, I would've died that night."

I shuddered at the thought and didn't even realize that I'd moved closer to him until he put his arm around me. "Hey, enough depressing talk. How 'bout we go for a ride?"

I nodded before he put the guitar away & we walked out toward the main cave. He pulled me tight to his side as we walked and I suddenly got a devious idea, wrapping my arm around his waist & reaching up to kiss him on the cheek before pulling away & walking ahead of him. I smirked when I heard him patting down his coat and turned to see him searching his pockets with a confused look.

"Lose something?"

He raised an eyebrow at me before holding out his hand. "Very funny. C'mon, give 'em back."

"Give what back? Oh, you mean _these_?" I said while holding up his bike keys and he smirked before taking a step toward me, causing me to step back.

"Last chance babe, gimme my keys!"

I pretended to think about it for a minute before gripping the keys tightly. "Nah, don't wanna. In fact I think _I'll_ drive this time!"

"Like _hell_ you will!"

I laughed as I turned to run down the tunnel and heard him growl before giving chase.

"Oh shit!"

I picked up the pace when I felt his breath hitting the back of my neck and broke out into the main cave before squealing in shock when I was suddenly grabbed around the waist & flung over his shoulder.

"PAUL! Put me down!"

"Gimme back my keys and maybe I will!"

I sighed before holding up the keys & rattling them in his ear, he quickly snatched them from my hand before putting them back in his pocket.

"Now put me down!"

He paused & pretended to think it over for a minute. "Nah, don't wanna."

My jaw dropped & I narrowed my eyes at him. "Oh you _bastard_!"

He laughed before carrying me out toward his bike, I reached up to smack him in the back of the head & squeaked when he reached up to smack my ass in retaliation.

"I'm gonna fucking kill you!"

"Keep telling yourself that babe."

* * *

 **AN: I stg I wasn't even thinking about it when I made his guitar a Les Paul, I only realized it after the fact! XDDD**


	49. Under The Boardwalk PT 2

**AN: Before anyone comments about the modern music references In this chapter, my head-canon for this story is that Santa Carla is one of those towns that seems stuck in a different era (hence why the girls were surprised to see people dressed like them when they first got there)**

 **I know it may sound confusing & I'm sorry I didn't make that clear earlier (if you want me to put this somewhere in one of the earlier chapters let me know) but this is pretty much the only time you'll see references to modern times, which is probably a dumb idea, but I still hope you enjoy it anyway :}**

* * *

 ***Katie's POV***

Paul & I were now sitting on the beach underneath the Boardwalk, I hadn't noticed that he'd brought his "rock box" with us, but I was glad he did because sitting under the boardwalk with nothing to listen to except the sound of people screaming on the roller coasters & walking around on the wooden planks above our heads would be _very_ boring indeed.

Unfortunately, the rock station that Paul usually played wasn't playing anything good at the moment, so I was searching for another station to listen to. I hit the seek button & cringed before quickly changing the station when I heard Anaconda by Nicki Minaj playing through the speakers.

I tried again.

 _ **It's Friday, friday, gotta get down on-**_

"AHHHH! MY EARS!" Paul screamed in agony as I quickly hit the button again.

 _ **Don't cha wish your girlfriend was hot like me-**_

"Nope!" I growled and heard Paul chuckle in amusement.

"Sorry Nicole, my girl's _way_ hotter than you."

"Damn straight!"

He laughed as I grumbled in annoyance, why wasn't there any good music playing on the radio?!

I tried changing the station again.

 _ **Baby, baby, baby-**_

"NOOO!"

I heard Paul laughing his ass off as I quickly changed the station from the hideous abomination that people have the _audacity_ to call real music & sighed in relief when I finally found an oldies station & heard Rockin' Robin by Bobby Day come through the speakers.

It wasn't Zeppelin or Motley Crüe, but at least it wasn't _Bieber_!

"Oh thank _god_! I thought my ears were gonna melt off!"

Paul was holding his stomach from laughing so hard and I growled before chucking a rock at his head. "It's not funny you asshole!"

He managed to dodge the rock and I squeaked when I was suddenly picked up & spun around before Paul crashed his lips to mine.

"Aw c'mon babe, you have to admit it _was_ kinda funny." He gave me a teasing grin and I pouted before lightly smacking him upside the head. "Fucking jerk!"

He chuckled before pulling me into another kiss.

We sat down on the blanket that he'd brought along (somehow I missed that too) and he lit up a joint before passing it to me.

"So Katie, I've told you about me, but I don't really know anything about you. So what's your story?"

I held the thick smoke in my lungs for a bit before letting it out & shrugging halfheartedly. "Not much to tell really, at least nothing worth mentioning."

I felt him place a hand on my shoulder and turned to see him giving me a sympathetic smile. "You don't have to tell me anything if you don't want to, I understand what it's like not wanting to relive painful memories."

I sighed before turning to stare at the ocean, letting my mind drift as the memories came back to me.

"...My mom died when I was five, and I never knew my dad since he ran off like a chicken-shit when he found out my mom was pregnant. She always blamed me for it."

"Katie-"

I put my hand up to silence him before continuing. "She got into heavy drinking & drugs not long after I was born, so by the time I was three I'd learned how to take care of myself. How I even survived to _that_ age I'll never really know." I laughed humorlessly before taking another hit & passing it back.

"I remember when it happened, I heard something crash in the living room & went to check it out, only to find my mom facedown on the floor. I'd seen her get drunk & pass out before, but I guess part of me knew something was off this time, so I tried waking her up for a few minutes before deciding to call 911. She'd been dead before she hit the ground, so it wouldn't've mattered either way."

"I'm sorry."

"Don't be, she was a neglectful bitch to me. I actually hate to think how I would've turned out if i'd grown up with her. Anyway, I was carted off to an orphanage after they couldn't find my dad. Two years later I met Amber, and we've been attached at the hip ever since."

I smiled as I remembered that day, that and the day we met Rose & Luna were the top-two best days of my life. Although meeting Paul & the lost boys is a close third.

"I remember the first time I saw her, she was sitting by herself & somehow got a blue jay to eat from her hand. I _swear_ she could've been Shirley Temple's twin, but don't tell her I said that."

He laughed before finishing the joint & putting the roach away for later.

"Oh yeah! I wanted to ask you something Paul."

"What's up?"

"I read some of Luna's book today, it said that vampires can only dream about their mates, is that true?"

He nodded before sending me a mischievous smile. "Are ya sure you wanna know what kind of dreams _I_ had Katie? It might scar you for life."

I turned to punch him in the shoulder. "Bitch _please_! My mom couldn't pay for her addictions half the time, so I've seen things that would make a two-dollar whore blush in shame! Why do you think I'm so fucked up in the head?"

He laughed before slinging an arm over my shoulder & kissing my cheek.

"Relax babe, I was just kidding. Actually whenever I dreamed, I would be at a concert, and I would see you dancing in the crowd by yourself. I'd only catch a glimpse of blonde hair & hazel eyes, and I'd hear you calling my name sometimes, but no matter how hard I tried I couldn't ever get through the crowd, until a few years ago that is."

"What do you mean?"

"The dreams changed a few years ago, I somehow managed to finally break through the crowd and put my arms around you, but then I'd wake up."

"Wow, that's strange."

He nodded and we sat in a comfortable silence for a few minutes until Bobby Day came to an end. I giggled when Under The Boardwalk by The Drifters started playing through the speakers. Paul chuckled before he suddenly pulled me into a standing position & started dancing with me.

 _ **Oh when the sun beats down and**_

 _ **burns the tar up on the roof**_

 _ **And your shoes get so hot you wish your tired feet were fire proof**_

 _ **Under the boardwalk, down by the sea, yeah**_

 _ **On a blanket with my baby is where I'll be**_

I couldn't help but laugh as Paul spun me around in an exaggerated waltz while lip syncing with the words.

 _(Under the boardwalk)_

 _ **Out of the sun**_

 _(Under the boardwalk)_

 _ **We'll be having some fun**_

 _(Under the boardwalk)_

 _ **People walking above**_

 _(Under the boardwalk)_

 _ **We'll be making love**_

 _(Under the boardwalk, boardwalk!)_

He waggled his eyebrows at me as he lip synced the words and I couldn't stop myself from giggling as I playfully smacked him in the chest. "You're such a perv!"

"I know, but you love me anyway."

I smiled at my mischievous mate & pulled him down so I could place my forehead to his. "Sure, whatever helps you sleep at night babe."

"I don't sleep at night."

"Exactly!"

He growled playfully at me before leaning down to nip at my throat, making me gasp in surprise. "Hey! Th-that's cheating you dick!"

He chuckled before licking my neck & pulling away to kiss my forehead.

 _ **From the park you hear the happy sound of a carousel**_

 _ **Mm-mm, you can almost taste the hot dogs and French fries they sell**_

 _ **Under the boardwalk, down by the sea**_

 _ **On a blanket with my baby is where I'll be**_

Paul raised an eyebrow at the radio as the lyrics played through the speakers. "This song fits our current situation a little _too_ well."

I giggled before pecking him on the lips. "Funny how life works out sometimes huh?"

He smiled before spinning me around and I joined him in lip-syncing to the chorus.

 _(Under the boardwalk)_

 _ **Out of the sun**_

 _(Under the boardwalk)_

 _ **We'll be having some fun**_

 _(Under the boardwalk)_

 _ **People walking above**_

 _(Under the boardwalk)_

 _ **We'll be making love**_

 _(Under the boardwalk, boardwalk!)_

I placed my head on his chest & sighed in content.

"I do love you by the way."

I smiled before looking up at my mate. "I know. I love you too, even if you _do_ piss me off sometimes."

"It's what I do best babe."

I rolled my eyes before leaning up to kiss him. "Whatever."

 _ **Ooh, under the boardwalk, down by the sea, yeah**_

 _ **On a blanket with my baby is where I'll be**_

 _(Under the boardwalk)_

 _ **Out of the sun**_

 _(Under the boardwalk)_

 _ **We'll be having some fun**_

 _(Under the boardwalk)_

 _ **People walking above**_

 _(Under the boardwalk)_

 _ **We'll be falling in love**_

 _(Under the boardwalk, boardwalk!)_

* * *

 ***Time skip, Luna's POV***

"Cutting it kinda close you two." I teased as Paul & Katie entered the cave. Their hair was more messed up than usual & Katie was sporting a bright-purple bite mark on her neck, so it wasn't hard to guess why they were so late.

"Hey, she attacked me, so it's not my fault!"

We all laughed our asses off as Katie's jaw dropped & her eyes got so wide I thought they'd pop out of her head, I'm sure that if she could still blush, her face would be bright-red by now.

 **"PAUL!"**

He laughed & quickly dodged when Katie went to swipe at his head before proceeding to chase him around the cave while threatening to neuter him with a rusty spoon.

"Alright you two, play nice! If you're gonna have a round two then get a room!" Marko teased, making the rest of us clutch our stomachs due to laughing so hard.

"Actually, it'd be a round four bro!"

 _ **"YOU MOTHERFUCKER!"**_ Katie chased Paul down the tunnel that led to the boy's rooms and I dried the tears from my eyes before hearing David chuckle in amusement at his brother's antics.

"Alright, let's get to bed. Sun's coming up in half an hour, hopefully they won't be _too_ loud."

We heard a startled yell that sounded like Katie coming from somewhere deep in the cave and groaned in annoyance.

"Looks like we're in for a _long_ day." We all sighed in exasperation before heading down the opposite tunnel, hoping that the sleeping chamber was far enough away that we wouldn't have to hear what was going on.

Unfortunately luck was _NOT_ on our side and I vowed to cut my sisters vocal chords and shave Paul's head first thing tomorrow night.


	50. Mama Bear

**AN: This recent delay is completely my fault, I got hooked back into Jacksepticeye videos (also I've been on an Undertale binge for the past few days xD) oh & before you read on, I feel I should tell you that there's 2 words that mean the same thing in this chapter; ****Náhko'e** **& ****Ke** **, both mean** **Mother** **in Cheyenne.**

 **Now that that's out of the way, please enjoy this (kinda long) chapter! Warning: there will be some darker elements in this chapter.**

* * *

 _I couldn't breathe._

 _Smoke filled my lungs with every breath I took as I ran through the burning inferno that was once my home, making me cough violently & my vision go blurry._

 _I finally turned down the hallway that lead to the outside & used the last of my energy to sprint to the front door. My adrenaline was pumping too hard for me to care when the hot metal burned my hands as I twisted the knob & threw the door open wide._

 _It looked like a scene straight out of hell itself._

 _The area that surrounded my house was completely engulfed in flames, and I saw a few people running through the burning streets while their screams filled the air, barely being heard over the sound of the raging inferno. I finally made it to an area outside the reservation that was still untouched by the flames & heard a bone-chilling sound that had me leaping into the bushes to hide._

 _Hoof beats._

 _I peeked out of my hiding place when I heard laughter & gunfire, only to see a group of drunken men on horseback shooting at anyone that came running in their direction to get away from the flames._

 _It was a massacre._

 _It didn't matter who came out, men, women, even children were being shot down one by one. Some of the kids I recognized as my classmates, kids that I went to school & had lunch with every day, and I wanted so _badly _to do something, but being an eight year old girl, I could only watch in horror as they were slaughtered without mercy._

 _I wanted to look away, to close my eyes, cover my ears & pretend that this was all just a bad dream, but I was completely frozen by the grim reality going on around me._

 _I felt my heart drop into my stomach when I heard a familiar voice & looked up to see my mother making her way towards the demons that waited to slaughter anyone that came to escape the hell they'd created. I wanted to warn her, I wanted to scream for her to get away, but the fear of them finding me had my voice stuck in my throat._

 _I froze when I heard a gunshot pierce the air, and watched as my mother's body convulsed before she fell to the ground, unmoving._

"NÁHKO'E!"

* * *

 ***Luna's POV***

My eyes shot open & I gasped in shock as I lost my grip on the bar & fell to the ground with a resounding **_*THUD*_**. I groaned & rubbed the back of my head before looking up into the confused & extremely tired faces of my pack-mates.

"Luna! Are you alright?!" Dwayne asked as he dropped down beside me (though his landing was a lot better than mine)

"Y-yeah, I'm ok... _ow_." I groaned as the bump on my head started throbbing, but the pain in my head wasn't nearly enough to drive the terrifying dream (vision?) from my mind.

Whoever that little girl was, it definitely wasn't anyone in _my_ group, and the fact that she spoke Cheyenne made it all the more confusing to me.

"What the hell was that Luna? Why'd you fall off the bar?!"

I gave Amber a blank look before sighing in annoyance. "If I told you, you wouldn't believe me."

"Try me." Rose glared at me while crossing her arms, which looked kinda funny upside down, but I could tell that she wasn't gonna let this go, so I explained the god-awful vision in explicit detail. Making sure not to leave anything out as my pack listened intently.

"Hmm...well, vampires can't dream, so it must've been a vision."

"No shit Sherlock."

David rolled his eyes at me. "It-being a vision means that unfortunately I can't give you any answers, and I'm pretty sure Max won't be able to help either. So the only thing you can do is watch, wait & see what happens."

Unfortunately he had me there, so we agreed to keep an eye out until the answer presented itself. Dwayne & I returned to our place beside our brothers & sisters before he wrapped his arms around me & we settled into a restless sleep for the rest of the day.

 ***Time Skip, Luna's POV***

"Dwayne! Cut it out!"

Dwayne chuckled as he swung Laddie over his shoulder & started walking towards the rides while occasionally reaching up to tickle him in the ribs, making him laugh uncontrollably. I laughed & shook my head at my mate & adoptive son as I followed them around the boardwalk while scoping out my "meal" for the evening. There weren't any bonfire parties on the beach tonight for some reason (maybe people were finally learning not to go out at night) so us vampires had to actually hunt for a change.

Not that I was complaining mind you.

"Hey Dwayne, I'm gonna walk around for a bit ok?" He held up his free hand to indicate that he'd heard me, and Laddie waved as they disappeared into the crowd. I sighed before deciding to take a side path to a different part of the boardwalk.

I let my mind wander for a bit as I moved down the alleyway. The vision I had earlier today kept replaying through my head like a horror film. I could practically smell the burning buildings, and the sound of the gunfire rang loud & clear in my ears.

" _Ma'heo'o_ , why are you torturing me like this?!"

I asked as if I would receive an answer. Before I could take another step, I heard the sound of malicious laughter somewhere ahead of me, and I was about to turn away without a second thought, but froze when I caught the scent of blood, letting instinct be my guide as I followed it toward the sound of the voices. The smell was pure & sweet, untainted by disease, alcohol or drugs.

' _Only children's blood smells like that.'_

The thought had me picking up the pace and I turned down a different alleyway before stopping in my tracks. There were five men, all covered in the rancid stench of alcohol & cheap tobacco, and all standing in a circle around a little girl, laughing in sick delight when she cried out as they kicked & stomped on her over & over again.

"Stupid little bitch! Thought you could steal from us huh?!"

"What do you expect man? Little injun _whore_ don't know any better!"

The last word barely left the man's lips before I saw red.

I decided to let _the id_ (I've read some of Freud's work) take the reigns for a bit as the child finally went limp before I let out a blood-curdling roar & attacked, ripping flesh from bone & drinking my fill of blood before brutally torturing & killing the rest slowly & painfully by slashing at their legs with my claws first, making _damn_ sure that no one escaped my wrath.

 _Kill!_

 _KILL THEM!_

 _ **RIP THEM TO PIECES!**_

For once, I had no problem obliging as my soul sang in rapture at the gruesome display of violence. I felt the id purr in content as I watched the light fade from the eyes of my last victim before it receded into the depths of my mind.

I crouched down & gently lifted the little girl into my arms. She couldn't have been much younger than Laddie, and even though it was marred by multiple black bruises, I noticed that her skin was a light copper tone, and there was no mistaking that pitch-black hair that just _barely_ touched the ground as I held her.

I heard footsteps rushing towards my location & held her tight to my chest before moving into a defensive position, growling in warning at whoever was approaching & feeling a surge of maternal instinct take over my entire being as a figure appeared at the entrance of the alleyway.

* * *

 ***Dwayne's POV***

We all felt the anger through our bond after I dropped Laddie off with Sam, and after determining that it wasn't coming from any of us, we quickly split up to search for my mate.

The bloodlust that I felt was like nothing I'd ever felt before, not even from Marko, and he's the most _sadistic_ little bastard I've ever met when he's in the mood to kill! I lifted my nose to the wind & nearly cringed at how strong the smell of blood was.

' _Oh Ma'heo'o, she is_ PISSED _!'_

I made sure no one would see me as I took to the air before following the scent, letting the rest of my pack know where I was headed through our bond.

 _I'm already there. You guys need to see this, and I'm not gonna lie to ya, it ain't pretty._

I locked onto Paul's location before making my way there.

It was a bloodbath.

The walls of the alleyway were stained red from the amount of blood splattered everywhere. Severed limbs, intestines, and something that looked suspiciously like a spine littered the area, and I managed to pick out five mangled bodies among the gore, but only by counting what was left of the heads.

 _Jesus! Even_ I'm _not this brutal!_

I didn't even notice that Marko, along with the rest of the pack, had finally caught up with Paul & me. We heard a low warning growl and I froze when we found the source.

Luna was completely _drenched_ in blood. Her pupils were dilated to the point that her eyes looked nearly blacked-out, and she was completely vamped-out while crouching in a defensive position. Her hair had fallen loose from its usual braid & hung over her face like a curtain, making her fangs & eyes the only thing visible to us. She looked like she could & _would_ attack at any sudden moves from us, making this situation even more difficult - and deadly - to handle.

I paused when I saw her shift slightly & noticed that she was clutching something to her chest. Without moving I zeroed in on what she held, only to freeze completely when I realized that she was holding a _child_ in her arms.

" _Easy_ mama bear, we're not gonna take your baby from you, ok?" Paul had his hands raised in a placating manner & was speaking in a quiet tone, but it didn't seem to have any effect as she moved back slightly & growled even louder at us.

 _Dwayne, maybe you should try._

I nodded and Paul slowly moved away so I could stand in her line of vision.

"Luna?"

She paused & I could practically see her ears perk up at the sound of my voice, so I continued.

"It's ok _usdiga_ , no one's going to take her from you."

Her growling started to quiet down & she seemed to relax slightly.

"We won't take her away from you, I promise. I know you only killed them because they hurt her."

She stopped growling completely and we all sighed in relief when her pupils started to shrink & her usual blue eyes became visible.

 ***Luna's POV***

My vision finally came back into focus & I found myself staring into the relieved faces of my pack-mates, while my mate stood only a few feet away from me.

' _When did they get here?'_

"D-Dwayne?" He nodded as the others sighed in relief.

"Finally coming out of it little sister?"

"Wha-?" I looked at David in confusion before finally noticing the mess I'd made. I glanced up at my sisters to see them staring at me in shock.

" _Damn_ Luna! I knew you were brutal when it comes to kids, but I didn't think it was _this_ bad!"

Katie stood gaping like a fish as Paul laughed slightly in amusement. "Told ya she's a mama bear!"

I blocked out the rest of the conversation as I turned my attention to the child in my arms & inspected the extent of the damage done to her. Luckily no bones were broken, but the cuts & bruises that littered her body had me wishing I could kill the bastards all over again. I paused when I noticed her hands & lifted them to look closer.

Burn scars.

I wanted answers, and _Ma'heo'o_ delivered.

An image of little hands gripping a hot metal doorknob flashed through my mind before my breath caught in my throat when I realized her heartbeat was slowing down.

"David!"

He quickly moved to stand beside me & placed his hand on her heart. "She must have internal bleeding, there's nothing we can do-"

"Don't give me that bullshit David!"

He looked at me like I'd grown a second head. "We can't just turn her without Max's-"

I vamped-out & grabbed David by the front of his shirt before pulling him so close that our noses nearly touched, the sudden attack causing him to vamp-out as well.

"Did you need _daddy's_ permission when you decided to turn your brothers?! Have you ever _actually_ given a shit about anything he says?!"

I crashed my forehead to his & gave him a venomous glare. "If you don't do it David, then _I_ will!"

I growled before letting him go. He hissed at me before reaching up to grab me by the throat, I felt the sting of his claws piercing my neck as Paul & Marko restrained my angry mate from attacking him.

"I'll only say this once _little girl_ ; don't you _**EVER**_ grab me like that again unless you wanna die!"

I showed no fear as he spat the words out like they were poison on his tongue and waited patiently as his eyes seemed to search mine. I knew I had him by the ego; if he didn't turn the kid, then he would look weak in front of his brothers, and if he hurt me, then he'd lose more than half his pack.

He was stuck, and he knew it.

He growled before letting go of me & giving me a warning glare.

"You want the kid? Then _you_ turn her! She's your problem now, and you'll deal with the consequences on your own!"

I nodded before using my fangs to slice open my wrist & holding it to her lips. I felt a hand on my shoulder & turned to find Dwayne staring down at the little girl as she finally latched onto my wrist.

 _It's ok baby, I did the same thing with Laddie, and I'm with you all the way._

I smiled at him & finally felt her let go of my wrist before falling into a deep sleep. I was slightly surprised when my sisters gathered around to see the new halfling.

 _Sorry I pissed off your mate Rose._

She glanced over at her brooding mate before smirking at me.

 _Don't worry about it honey, you just leave him to_ me.

I smiled as she winked at me before we all decided to head back to the cave. I flew back on my own while Dwayne went to pick up Laddie, and the others went to grab a quick "bite" before cleaning up what they could of the gory mess I'd left behind.

I gotta remember to pay them back someday.

* * *

 ***Time Skip***

I had carried the little girl into mine & Dwayne's shared room deep in the cave and was sitting beside her as she slept. I was too worried to leave her alone as of yet, since David (and now Max) were still completely pissed-off at me. Despite telling me that I'd have to deal with the consequences on my own, David managed to talk Max out of ripping my limbs off for creating another halfling without his permission (with a little help from Lucy of course)

I froze when she began to stir & watched as she looked around the room in awe before her gaze finally rested on me.

" _Ke_?"

I gave her a sad smile & shook my head in the negative.

" _Hová'åháne mé'ėševotse_."

 **(No baby)**

She visibly deflated, but gave me a curious look.

" _Nétsėhésenėstsehe_?"

 **(You speak Cheyenne?)**

I nodded & gave her an equally curious look. "Do you speak English at all?"

She nodded reluctantly. "A l-little, not too much though."

"Do you at least understand it?"

"M-most, some words still too hard for me."

I smiled fondly at her imperfect english, it was actually kinda cute.

"You saved me?"

" _Héehe'e_ "

 **(Yes {Cheyenne})**

" _Néá'eše_."

 **(Thank you {Cheyenne})**

I nodded & gave her a sympathetic smile.

" _Nétónėševéhe_?"

 **(What's your name?)**

" _Ayashe_."

I had to stop myself from laughing out loud. **(AN: the word Ayashe means 'little one' in Cheyenne, but can also be used as a female name)**

"My _shi'choo_ used to call me that all the time!"

 **(Grandfather {Cheyenne})**

She gave me a confused smile.

 _"Móhe? Nétónėševéhe?"_

 **(Really? What's your name?)**

"Luna."

Before she could say anything else, there was a knock at the door, and I had to bite my lip to keep from laughing when she quickly dove into my chest & buried her face in my shoulder.

' _Poor thing.'_

"Come in Dwayne!" He slowly opened the door & walked in, with a curious Laddie following behind him.

"It's ok sweetie, they're not gonna hurt you."

She looked up at them and Dwayne smiled warmly at her while Laddie waved, she turned to study them as Dwayne gave me a questioning look.

 _How is she?_

 _She's ok. A little shaken up, but she'll get better in time._

He nodded and I smiled when Laddie slowly moved closer so he wouldn't scare her.

"Laddie, Dwayne, this is _Ayashe_. She can't speak english very well, but she can understand most of it."

"Hi! Can I call you Aya for short?" She nodded at Laddie and he smiled at her. Dwayne & I gave each other knowing looks when she blushed & hid her face in my shoulder.

"How old are you Aya?"

She lifted her head to look at him before holding up eight fingers.

"I'm ten, so I'm a little older than you."

She pouted & stuck her tongue out at him, and Dwayne & I couldn't help but laugh when he did the same to her. She lightly tugged on my shirt and I leaned down so she could whisper in my ear.

" _Énęxoóhtahe_."

 **(He's cute)**

"What'd she say?"

I smirked at my adopted son before waving a hand in dismissal. "Nothing you need to know."

He huffed in annoyance, but didn't press the matter farther.

' _Seems things just got a little more interesting around here.'_

 **AN: How do you guys like my new character? Comment & let me know what you think! **❤️


	51. New Problems Emerge

**AN: This chapter takes place right after Luna flew Aya back to the cave, and is in David & Rose's POV. Sorry it took a while, but after like 13 re-edits, it's finally done! Hope you enjoy it :)**

* * *

 ***Rose's POV***

I watched my sister fly off with the new halfling before walking over to my brooding mate.

"David."

He turned to look at me.

"First, we need to feed, _then_ we need to talk."

I gave him a 'don't argue with me or I'll fucking murder you' look when he made to protest, and he sighed in annoyance before we took off to find a meal.

* * *

We managed to find & feed off a couple of surf-nazis before heading to the Emerson house. When we finally arrived I pulled him out to the garage so we could talk privately.

"Ok David. First of all; I don't care that you're my mate, if you _**ever**_ put your hands on one of my sisters like that again, I _will_ fucking castrate you & shove your severed dick down your throat! _Understand?!_ "

He growled at me, but nodded in understanding.

"Look, I get it, you're used to always being the one in charge, Luna is too, so naturally you two are gonna butt heads every now & again."

He seemed to think it over a bit before sighing in annoyance.

"Yeah, I guess you're right, but when she challenges my authority like that, she doesn't seem to realize she's inadvertently challenging Max too."

"How the hell is she challenging Max?"

"He's the head vampire, so he has the final say in every major decision, but since I'm considered the eldest 'child' it's usually up to _me_ to protect our secret & keep things in order. Yes, I admit that I went against Max when I turned the boys, but at the time he wanted to expand our pack, and despite what he says about me, he usually trusts my judgement, so he gave me the rule that as long as I didn't turn young children - unless I had his express-permission to do so - then I could basically do whatever the hell I wanted."

"So she's challenging him by saving a dying kid?"

He groaned & ran a hand through his hair in agitation before finally pulling a pack of cigarettes out of his coat pocket.

"I know it sounds dumb. Personally, I actually don't mind the idea of adopting a couple kids into my pack depending on the circumstances, as long as we wait till they're at least eighteen to fully turn them of course."

I hummed in agreement as he offered me a cigarette, which I gladly accepted. He pulled out a lighter & lit mine before lighting his own.

"Dwayne did the exact same thing with Laddie. Poor kid was being abused by his alcoholic father on a daily basis, while his mom did so many prescription drugs that she didn't know what the fuck was going on half the time. Dwayne found him bleeding-out behind a dumpster after his dad attacked him with a kitchen knife."

" _Jesus_!"

I shuddered at the idea of anyone ever laying a hand on that sweet little boy, it just didn't seem real! Then again, I may know better than anyone what drugs & alcohol can do to a person's mental state.

David suddenly flinched & his brow furrowed in concentration.

"What's up?"

"Max. He knows about the kid, and he is _NOT_ happy."

I thought it over for a minute before spotting a familiar face spying on us from the kitchen window.

"David, go meet Max at the video store, I'll meet you there in a bit."

He sighed & suddenly got a teasing smirk on his face.

"How 'bout a kiss for good luck?"

I rolled my eyes, but leaned over to kiss him nonetheless. "There. Now get out of here before he busts a vessel!"

He chuckled before heading back to his bike & taking off toward the boardwalk.

* * *

 ***Time skip, David's POV***

"What the _**FUCK**_ were you thinking David?!"

I was sitting in Max's office in the back of the video store & had spent the last ten minutes listening to him bitch & complain. At this point, I would rather voluntarily let the frogs shove a stake through my heart than listen to another minute of this bullshit!

"I just _barely_ let you off the hook when you let Dwayne turn Laddie, but letting a _newborn_ turn a _child_ is completely unacceptable David! How do you expect her to control a bloodthirsty halfling when she can barely control her own bloodlust?! You saw what she did to those men in the alleyway!"

I took a moment to catch myself & choose my words carefully before my anger & annoyance could get me in even more trouble.

"First of all; you know _damn_ well that a female's maternal instincts would be double or even _triple_ what they were when they were human, so the lack of control could've happened to any _one_ of the girls!"

"Be that as it may, that kind of reckless behavior could get us all in serious trouble! Just the sheer amount of missing posters alone is starting to attract the attention of the FBI, and with our pack suddenly growing so quickly, other packs are starting to become wary of us too!"

I growled in annoyance, unfortunately I knew he was right, and I also knew that having even _one_ living mortal knowing about the existence of the vampire race was a big risk, but having an entire mortal _family_ knowing (seven in total if you count Star & the frog brothers) was practically unheard of.

"Luna's behavior cannot go unpunished! I'll-"

" _YOU_ will not lay a _hand_ on that girl Maximilian!"

We jumped in surprise & turned to find my mate, along with a _very_ angry Lucy Emerson & an older woman that I didn't recognize standing in the doorway.

"What the- Lucy? _Aunt Sandra_?! What're _you_ doing here?!"

"Rose told me what happened tonight, and since I don't know much about vampire politics, I had my dad call Ms. Johnson and she agreed to come here & help sort out this mess!"

The older woman, Ms. Johnson, walked into the center of the room before pointing a black-lacquered claw at us.

 _ **"Sit."**_

Max immediately dropped into his seat like an obedient dog, and I actually found myself trembling in fear as I quickly sat in one of the few chairs in the room. Rose & Lucy walked in before closing & locking the door behind them.

"Now Max, while I _do_ understand your concerns, I also know that you have little-to-no experience with female vampires other than myself, so since _I'm_ the one that turned you, _I_ will be the one to decide whether or not she goes unpunished! Understand?"

He quickly nodded in agreement and I froze when the older vampire turned her steely-silver gaze on me.

"David, is it?"

I nodded & was slightly surprised when she held her hand out to me.

"I don't believe we've met. My name is Sandra, but people around here call me the Widow Johnson. Your mate told me about herself & her sisters, and honestly, I'm not surprised that this happened at all. As you said before David; any one of the girls could have done the exact same thing."

"To be honest, I would've done the same thing if someone tried to hurt my sons."

I couldn't help chuckling at the image of little Lucy Emerson attacking someone over her sons. The idea was just too hilarious to comprehend.

Unless she became a vampire of course.

"Did you _have_ to bring my mate into this Rose?" Max groaned in annoyance while she gave him an evil smirk that could rival my own.

"I'm a woman Max. If I can't match you physically, I'm gonna exploit every little weakness you have. Besides, you were threatening my sister, so you kinda deserve it _._ "

He started to growl at her, but his sire put a stop to that when she quickly stormed over & smacked him upside the head, causing me to cover up a laugh by pretending to cough.

" _Maximilian Marian Blackwell!_ if you growl at her one more time, I'll cut out your tongue & feed it to Thorn!"

I almost choked on my cigarette & caught Rose biting her lip as Lucy's face lit up in a teasing smile.

"Your middle name is _Marian_?"

"It's more common than you think! If I do as you say then can we _please_ change the subject Aunt Sandra?!"

She gave us all a triumphant smirk & nodded in acceptance. "Alright Max, I won't embarrass you anymore. Now David, I know that this isn't the first time this has happened in your group. I understand that, ironically, her mate did the exact same thing some time ago, is that correct?"

"Yes."

"And how old is his halfling?"

"Laddie's ten years old, I don't know how old our new halfling is, but she can't be that much younger than him."

"And are you able to control his bloodlust without any major problems?"

"So far, yes. We've been feeding him animal blood to keep the 'hunger pains' at bay."

She nodded in understanding before Lucy suddenly spoke up. "Would you have enough to keep another halfling under control?"

"Yeah, it wouldn't be a problem for us."

"Hm, and how does the rest of the pack feel about this?"

"Not surprisingly, Dwayne is already willing to help Luna raise the kid. Her sisters are obviously on board with it, and Paul & Marko already help with raising Laddie, so they're excited to have another kid running around."

"What about you?"

I gave the old woman a blank look. "Not to disrespect you or anything, but do you _really_ think I'd've let her turn the kid in the first place & put myself through one of Max's lectures if I really didn't want another halfling in my pack?"

She raised an eyebrow at me before chuckling in amusement. "Fair enough. So basically the entire pack is all for it?"

"Yes. Is Luna still in trouble?"

She thought it over for a moment before shaking her head in the negative.

"No, she's not. However, make sure she knows that the _only_ reason I'm letting her off the hook is because it's only her first offense, and I know how hard it is for newborns to control themselves, but if she does something like this again, I won't be so lenient next time. Are we clear?"

"Yes ma'am."

There was a collective sigh of relief as the tension finally lifted from the room.

"Well, now that that's settled, there are a few things we need to discuss David."

"Such as?"

"Well for starters, since Michael & Star are of legal age, they're planning on leaving Santa Carla sometime soon. Lucy's been working out the details with them, so they won't be a problem anymore."

"Good. As long as that bitch doesn't try anything stupid when it comes to Laddie, we won't have a problem."

"If she does, then she'd be breaking her end of our agreement & you'd have full permission to kill her."

I was surprised at the seriousness in Lucy's voice, but smirked at the idea of ripping that deceitful little bitch apart with my bare hands, although I knew the chance of that happening were slim-to-none at this point.

"There's something else David, since you now have four newborns & two halflings to look after, that means altogether you now have _ten_ mouths to feed. Lucy has agreed to become my mate, meaning that soon she too will be a vampire. If you count aunt Sandra & myself, that makes _thirteen_ altogether. I hate to say it, but we may have to consider moving somewhere else until the heat dies down."

I looked at him as if he'd lost his mind & was about to protest, but he cut me off before I could say anything.

"Hold on David, nothing is set in stone yet. I said that we may have to _consider_ leaving, and I didn't say we'd leave forever if we _did_ take off, I said we'd leave until the heat dies down."

As much as I hated to admit it, I knew he was right. With the FBI sniffing around & our pack getting so big, we might actually need to leave Santa Carla for a while.

"Hang on, you said that Lucy has agreed to be your mate, and Michael & Star are planning to leave Santa Carla, so where does that leave Sam in all of this?"

"I've already worked that out Rose. Sam wants to wait until he's eighteen before he decides wether or not he wants to join our pack or stay human, so we've agreed that he'll stay with his grandfather while he attends school once Lucy becomes my mate & we'll visit on the weekends. If we do end up leaving Santa Carla, he'll stay with his grandfather. The less involved he is with that matter the better."

Lucy looked saddened by the idea, but I think that deep down, she knew Max was right & that it was the safest decision for her son.

"Fine. Anything else?"

Max shook his head in the negative and I sighed in relief before Rose & I said our goodbyes & walked quickly out the door.

 _Do you think we'll really have to leave?_

I shrugged in response before mounting my bike & starting the engine as Rose got on behind me.

 _Wouldn't be the first time._

Nothing more was said as we sped off toward Hudson's Bluff, but only one thought kept running through my head.

' _How am I gonna tell the others?'_


	52. Understanding

***Luna's POV***

I smiled at the adorable scene in front of me.

Laddie & Aya had fallen asleep about twenty minutes ago, and were now curled up together like puppies.

' _Cute.'_

I heard footsteps & turned to see my mate walk through the door, quickly putting a finger to my lips before pointing at the sleeping halflings. He smiled fondly at the scene & we chuckled when Laddie subconsciously wrapped his arms around Aya as she snuggled into his chest.

 _Can half-vampires sense their mates?_

 _It's extremely rare, but not impossible._

I nodded in understanding & pulled the blanket over them, being careful not to wake them up.

 _David just got back, says he needs to talk to us._

I sighed before turning to follow him out to the main cave.

Rose already told me earlier that I wasn't in trouble (for the most part) anymore, so what the _hell_ could be the problem now?

* * *

 _ **"WHAT?!"**_

"Calm the fuck down! Nothing's set in stone yet!"

Dwayne & I weren't too surprised at the news we'd just been given, but the rest of the group was freaking the hell out.

"We can't just leave! Santa Carla is our home!"

"Don't be so fucking dramatic Paul! You know damn well it wouldn't be the first time we've had to leave, and even if we _did_ leave, it wouldn't be forever!"

Everyone started arguing amongst themselves & I sighed in annoyance before standing up & taking a deep breath.

' _I hope I don't wake up the kids.'_

 _ **"SHUT UP!"**_

The boys quickly plugged their ears while my sisters cringed at the sudden noise.

 _"Thank you."_ I deadpanned before pinching the bridge of my nose & pacing for a bit as I tried to make sense of what I'd just been told.

" _Damn_ girl! Are you _trying_ to make us go deaf?!"

I ignored Paul's remark as I turned to look at David.

"So let me get this straight; Because of me & the girls - including Aya - joining the group, not only are we drawing attention from other packs, but now the amount of missing posters is causing the fucking _FBI_ to start sniffing around?!"

David shook his head (probably to try & stop the ringing in his ears) before growling in annoyance.

"Yeah, pretty much!"

"Ok, so what are we supposed to do about it?"

"Nothing yet. For now we've just gotta be a bit more careful when we feed, and make sure there's nothing left to find like we usually do. We've also gotta be on the lookout for other vampires in the area. Unfortunately we have a _lot_ of enemies, and it's only gotten worse since the Emersons got involved."

' _I'm gonna murder Star!'_

I sighed before giving him a questioning look. "Do they know about all this?"

"Yeah, and so do the frog brothers thanks to Sam. It's always good to have more eyes & ears on our side."

"Alright, what if we run into another vampire?"

He gave me a grim look. "Do _NOT_ fight them unless they attack you first! We don't need that kind of drama right now."

"Little late for that isn't it?"

" _Luna_ -"

"I know I know! I'll behave!"

David shook his head before addressing all of us.

"Let's get some sleep, we'll talk more about this tomorrow."

We all nodded in agreement before heading to the elevator shaft & settling into a restless sleep as the sun rose over Santa Carla.

* * *

"Hey Sam."

"Oh, hey Luna!"

Sam was hanging out in the comic book store with the frog brothers as I walked in with Laddie & Aya. Aya was nervously hiding behind me while holding my hand in a white-knuckled grip, which thankfully didn't affect me much.

"It's ok _Ayashe_ , they won't hurt you."

She peeked out from behind my leg as Sam gave her a reassuring smile, while the frogs glared at her in disapproval.

"So you've got another one huh?"

I glared at Edgar before turning to Aya.

"Listen, I need to have a talk with these two, can you stay with Laddie & Sam while I speak with them?"

She nodded before walking over to them. I grabbed the toads by their shirts before dragging them into the back of the shop, which also served as their home.

"Alright you two, I know you don't like the idea of me creating another halfling, but I had my reasons."

Edgar made a show of straightening out his shirt before growling in annoyance.

"I don't care! Turning a little kid ain't right! Does she even understand what you've done to her? Or have you been keeping that bit of information to yourself?"

I growled at his condescending tone before grabbing him by the shirt & lifting him so he was eye-level with me.

"Listen here you little _dickhead_! I turned her to save her fucking life after a group of _humans_ nearly beat her to death! And no, I haven't told her yet, but right now she's so traumatized by what happened to her that she doesn't need that kind of craziness added on top of it! So suck it up, shut up & deal with it, or do something that'll get you killed!"

I let go of him & he fell flat on his ass. Alan helped him up & turned to sneer at me while Edgar growled in annoyance.

' _That reminds me...'_

"Guys, how _did_ you know about the boys? In fact how did you even know vampires existed in the first place?"

Edgar's head shot up & he gave me a guarded look.

"That's none of your damn business bloodsucker!"

"Why so defensive Edgar? I'm just curious because I _highly_ doubt you figured it out just by watching movies & reading comic books. You _knew_ the boys were vampires long before the whole thing with the Emersons ever happened. How?"

"Like I said, it's none of your business!" Edgar yelled before giving me a shove.

I gasped as my mind was thrown into another vision as soon as he touched me.

 ***Luna's vision***

 **"Where're ya goin' Bonnie?"**

 **I was looking through the eyes of a child at a young woman who couldn't have been older than sixteen. She had the same skin tone as Edgar, but had Alan's hazel eyes & dark curly hair that ended just below her shoulder blades.**

 **"None of your business squirt! I'll be back in a few hours, so keep an eye on Alan ok?"**

 **"Ok sis."**

 **I watched through what I now knew was a young Edgar Frog's eyes as his older sister walked out the door of the comic book shop. He quickly ran to the window, and I was surprised to see her climb on the back of David's bike before watching them drive off.**

 **"Where'd sissy go Edgar?"**

 **He turned to face his little brother and I felt the anger & annoyance radiating off of him.**

 **"She's hanging out with those bikers again."**

 **I saw Alan get a nervous look on his face before I was nearly blinded by a flash of light & the scene shifted.**

*Time skip, 1 week later*

 **I again watched through Edgar's eyes as him, Alan & Bonnie wandered the boardwalk together. Bonnie was holding Alan's hand while Edgar seemed to be on the lookout for something.**

 **Or some** _ **one**_ **.**

 **"Eddie! Don't go too far ahead!"**

 **Heeding his sister's words, he slowed his pace until he fell into step beside his siblings. Eventually they stopped at a bench when Alan complained about his feet hurting.**

 **"Ok, you two stay here for a bit while I go get us some drinks. That means don't move, got it?"**

 **She said while playfully pointing an accusing finger at her brothers, causing them to pout. Bonnie smiled before turning to walk away, and I suddenly felt Edgar get an intense feeling of dread.**

 **Something wasn't right.**

 **He quickly stood up & grabbed Alan's hand before following after his sister.**

 **"What's wrong Ed?"**

 **"I'm not sure Alan...just stick close to me ok?"**

 **He nodded before tightening his grip on Edgar's hand & gluing himself to his side as they silently followed after Bonnie.**

 **She was walking towards a lemonade stand when a tall, shadowy figure approached her. I could tell by the body type that it was a man, but I couldn't see his face.**

 **He got Bonnie's attention, and a look of terror graced her features before the man put a mock-friendly arm around her & began leading her in the opposite direction.**

 **I felt Edgar get really nervous before cautiously following after them. There was another flash of light before things began to go by extremely fast & all sound became muffled.**

 **The man led her to a secluded area of the beach. They began to argue, but I couldn't tell what they were saying.**

 **Then everything went straight to hell.**

 **The man suddenly grabbed her and I watched in horror as a pair of bright-yellow eyes & sharp fangs became the only visible features on his face before he sunk them into her throat. Her pain-filled screams rang loud & clear in my ears.**

 **The terror & shock that Edgar felt overwhelmed my senses as he grabbed Alan & ran, not stopping for anything until they reached the comic shop.**

 **Another flash of light, and the scene changed again.**

*Time skip, the next night*

 **I watched through tear-filled eyes as an angry & heartbroken Edgar Frog sat sharpening a chair leg into a makeshift stake. I felt the disbelief running through his mind as he tried to process what happened last night.**

 **Sharp fangs.**

 **Yellow eyes.**

 **His sister had been killed by a vampire.**

 **He still couldn't fully believe it, but Alan had seen it too, so there had to be** _ **some**_ **truth to it right?**

 **They were gonna find out tonight.**

 **As he finished sharpening the stake, Alan came walking into the room carrying his own stakes strapped to his belt.**

 **"Ready?"**

 **He nodded & everything started flashing by again.**

 **Wandering the boardwalk, finding the vampire as he stalked a little girl, and finally following him to the beach before things slowed down again.**

 **I watched in shock as the lost boys showed up & told the kid to leave. She did so without a second thought and they began arguing with the man. I couldn't hear what they were saying, but judging by their expressions, it was getting pretty heated.**

 **"Aren't those the guys Bonnie was hanging out with?" Alan whispered. Edgar nodded in response before motioning for him to stay silent.**

 **They continued to argue before the lone vampire apparently said something that pissed off the lost boys, and whatever doubts Edgar had about the existence of vampires were completely demolished as they vamped-out & began attacking the other vampire. He fought back for a bit, but quickly got his ass handed to him. He pulled a cheap shot by throwing sand in David's face & managed to land a solid punch before he quickly flew off. The lost boys flew after him & they all disappeared into the night.**

 ***End of vision, Luna's POV***

"I get it now."

"Get what?"

"Why you feel prejudice towards vampires."

He looked at me like I'd lost my mind while Alan scoffed in annoyance.

"Oh yeah? And why's that?"

"Your sister was killed by a vampire, and she used to hang out with the lost boys, so you feel like they're partially responsible for it."

I caught Edgar's fist before it could connect with my jaw & noticed he had tears in his eyes.

"Stay the _FUCK_ out of my head!"

"It's not like that Edgar, when you shoved me, it caused me to have a vision related to you. I can't control when it happens, and I never could. I'm sorry."

He growled at me before wrenching his hand from my grip & turning to practically run up the stairs. I heard a door slam & turned to look at Alan, who surprisingly was giving me an apologetic look.

"You gonna yell at me too?"

He sighed before walking over to a desk (that I somehow hadn't noticed before) and digging through the drawers. He finally found what he was looking for & walked over to hand me a folded piece of paper. I unfolded it to find a picture of Bonnie Frog staring back at me.

 **[MISSING]**

 **NAME: Bonnie Frog**

 **AGE: 16**

 **HIEGHT: 5'6"**

 **EYES: Hazel**

 **HAIR: Dark Brown**

 **LAST SEEN AT THE SANTA CARLA BOARDWALK**

 **IF FOUND, PLEASE CALL**

 **[***-****]**

"Edgar was eight, and I was six at the time. We tried explaining what happened, but obviously nobody believed us."

"You've been trying to find him, haven't you?"

He nodded and I stared at her picture, committing every detail to memory before handing the poster back to him.

"We know there's nothing we could've done, but Edgar still feels like he should've done _something_."

I nodded in understanding before he suddenly placed a hand on my shoulder.

"Don't tell Edgar I told you this, but I think you & your group are alright for the most part. I mean, you could've just killed us after all the shit we pulled, but you didn't."

' _Ok, maybe Alan isn't so bad after all, but Edgar needs a_ serious _attitude adjustment!'_

He let go of me and I held my hand out to him. He gave me a curious look before holding his hand out, and I smiled before grabbing his forearm. He finally understood the sign of respect & returned the gesture.

"Thank you Alan. You're alright, for a toad." I teased. He laughed slightly before we let go of each other.

"You're ok too, for a bloodsucker."

I laughed slightly before turning to walk out the door, saying a quick goodbye to Sam & smiling when I saw Laddie reading a Batman comic book to Aya before leaving to look for a meal.


	53. Lighthouse Lounge

**AN: Merry Christmas everyone! Sorry this took so long, I have no excuse except procrastination -_-"**

 **This chapter takes place during & after the end of the last chapter, also I added an OC that I may-or-may-not write about in the future. Hope you enjoy this chapter, be sure to review & tell me what you think!**

* * *

 ***Rose's POV***

I had found my "meal" a little while ago and decided to go back to the cave for awhile. Luna had let me borrow that strange book (that she _still_ refuses to say where it came from) and I was surprised to find that an entire section of the book was filled with stories of famous vampires & hunters throughout history. Of course there were a couple names I recognized like Dracula, Count Orlok, and Abraham Van Helsing, but there was one female vampire on the list that caught my interest.

 _ **"Amara Abendroth: The Child Queen Of The Vampires"**_

' _Interesting.'_

I flipped to the page, started reading, and got so absorbed into the story that I didn't notice David walking into the cave as I finished the last paragraph.

"Whatcha reading?" I jumped & heard him chuckle in amusement before he placed an arm around my shoulder.

"I was just reading about this vampire, Amara Abendroth."

"Ah, The _child vampire queen_ of Germany. Max told me about her once, her name really suits her you know."

I looked at him in confusion. "Why's that?"

"The first name _Amara_ means eternal in German, _Abendroth_ means sunset. Kind of ironic huh?"

I hummed in agreement & closed the book. "It's actually kinda sad what happened to her. Even though she was sadistic & crazy as hell, no kid should have to go through that."

"Well, that's what happens when you turn a child. Their soul - what's left of it anyway - grows old while their bodies stay the same. Eventually, the feeling of being an adult stuck in the body of a child overwhelms them, and if left on their own, they can become...unstable."

"How do you know all this David?"

"Because I happen to know a child vampire. We may have a lot of enemies, but we've met a few packs that we get along with over the years."

I was shocked at this information, but at the same time it didn't surprise me that they had allies.

"The 'kid' is actually the oldest vampire in his pack, but he's not the leader for obvious reasons. In fact the _only_ reason he hasn't completely snapped is because the alpha-female acts like a mother figure to him, so it keeps him stable for the most part. He's a little pervert though." He deadpanned & I couldn't help but laugh.

"How big is their pack?"

He thought about it for a minute before shrugging in indifference. "They're nomadic, never in one place for very long. The last time we met up with them they had four members in their group. That was about ten years ago, and we've kept in touch with them over the years."

He gave me a very serious look. "Since they're nomadic, they can't afford to be picky about their prey. I'm not gonna sugarcoat it, they'll kill almost anyone to survive. In fact the only rule they have is that they won't go after children unless it's absolutely necessary to protect their secret. Anyone else is fair game to them, innocent or not, and if we end up leaving, we'll have to do the same."

I knew he was right, but the thought still made me uneasy. He gave me a sympathetic look before reaching down to grab my hand. "Come for a ride with me, I wanna show you something."

I nodded before we headed out of the cave and I got on the back as David started the engine.

' _Where we going?'_

' _You'll see.'_

I could practically hear the smirk in his voice & rolled my eyes in annoyance before we took off to who-knows-where.

* * *

' _David, where the_ hell _are you taking me?!'_

' _We're almost there. It's just up ahead, look.'_

I looked up to see a lighthouse at the top of a hill. He parked the bike at the end of the pathway before we flew up to the top.

"Wow, Santa Carla looks beautiful from up here!"

He smiled and we sat down before he lit a cigarette & offered one to me, which I gladly took since I don't get them very often.

"Yeah, this is my favorite spot in Santa Carla. I come up here when I wanna get away from everything for awhile."

I hummed in response before breathing out the thick smoke & glancing up at the stars. "Hey David?"

"Hey what?" I laughed slightly before feeling him wrap his arm around me.

"What's your story? I barely know anything about you except that you're the only one sired by Max. How'd that happen anyway?"

He sighed before taking a drag off his cigarette. "You know I'm the oldest right?"

"Yeah."

"Well believe it or not, I was born in Spain in 1468."

I almost choked on my cigarette. "Seriously?!"

He chuckled. "Yeah, I know I'm an old fart."

"Good thing I like older guys huh?" I gave him a teasing smile and he busted out laughing before putting his forehead against mine. "Very funny."

"It was, wasn't it?" I giggled before closing the distance between us & heard him chuckle as he kissed me back.

"Where was I?"

"1468."

"Oh yeah! Anyway, I was twenty-two when I met Max. I was part of Queen Isabella's army at the time, nothing major mind you, just a common soldier."

"Wow, that's amazing David!"

He smiled before shrugging in indifference. "Anyway, me & a small platoon were after this group of bandits, they ambushed us when we set up camp for the night & I was the only one to survive. I was laying on the ground bleeding out with an arrow in my shoulder & a dagger in my gut when Max showed up. Apparently he'd been following us for whatever reason."

I shuddered at the gruesome images that came to mind & subconsciously leaned further into his side.

"After Max gave me his blood, we hunted down the bastards the next night & I drained every single one of them dry. That was back in 1490, two years later we snuck aboard the Santa Maria with Columbus & set off for the new world."

I shook my head in disbelief as I processed this information. "Wow David, the things you must've seen." I mused out loud & felt him shrug in response.

"Yeah, it was cool I guess, except Max kept me on such a short leash at first that I didn't get to have much fun with it until Dwayne came along. Then I had to be the 'big brother' & keep my eye on him all the time, which wasn't _so_ bad since Max decided to let us have free reign as long as we didn't do anything stupid."

"But you did stupid shit anyway just to piss him off."

"Oh _hell_ yeah, of course we did."

I giggled at his response and we sat in a comfortable silence for awhile, just listening to the sound of the ocean waves & gazing up at the stars.

"What about you Rose?"

"Hm?"

"I didn't wanna ask you back then because of what happened with your parents, but you don't have to talk about it if you don't want to."

I knew this was coming, but that didn't make it any easier. I sighed before steeling my nerves.

"...They were abusive to me my entire life. It started out small, they'd ignore me when I cried and 'forget' to feed me every now & then, so by the time I was three, I knew how to take care of myself. I was four years old when my dad started hitting me."

I heard him growl lightly before he tightened his grip on my shoulder. "Wish I could go back & kill them myself."

I wrapped my arms around his waist & rested my head on his chest. "Yeah, but ripping Joe's throat out was _immensely_ satisfying after all the shit he pulled over the years."

"Careful babe, your vampire's showing."

"You say that like it's a bad thing."

He smirked before capturing my lips with his. "Not to me."

I hummed in amusement before continuing with my story. "Anyway, I ran away from home when I was fourteen, made it to New York City, got chased by the cops & ended up getting saved by Luna, if it weren't for that little street-rat I would've been caught & returned to my parents. We met Katie & Amber a few years later, and we've been inseparable ever since."

He chuckled lightly and we sat in silence for a few moments, I took this time to think back on everything and suddenly remembered what my- what _Joe_ had said about my family history.

Apparently my grandparents on both sides were vampire hunters, I never got the chance to meet any of them since they died not long after I was born.

I briefly wondered what they'd think of their granddaughter being a vampire's mate, if they were anything like my parents, they'd probably climb out of their graves & stake my sorry ass.

I smirked at the thought & turned to look at my mate. If someone had told me two months ago that not only did vampires exist, but that I would end up becoming one, I would've knocked their teeth out.

Yet here I am.

"Rose?"

"Hm?"

"Are you really ok with all of this? Being a vampire I mean."

"Yes."

He seemed shocked at my lack of hesitation.

"David, I can _always_ tell when a person is lying. Back when Star warned us about the blood, I knew she was telling the truth. The only reason I hesitated is because I wanted to make sure my sisters were ok with it too. If I really didn't want this then I wouldn't have drank from the bottle at all."

I smiled at the incredulous look on his face.

"Besides, I know about the pack & mate bonds, why didn't you tell me sooner you dick?!" I said while lightly smacking him in the shoulder, he laughed before giving me a sheepish smile. "I was going to tell you, but then all the crazy shit happened and I didn't get the chance."

"You're such a liar! You just kept putting it off and you know it!"

"...Alright, you got me. I didn't know how to tell you, and besides, if I would've told you right from the start that not only was I a vampire, but that _you_ were my mate & I've dreamt about you every day since I was turned, what would you have done?"

I thought about it for a minute before sighing in defeat. "Honestly, I would've thought you were crazy & probably would've kicked the shit out of you for being a creeper."

He busted out laughing & almost choked on his cigarette. "Exactly!"

I giggled at the mental image that came to mind of me trying to curb-stomp his head flat, but then I thought about what he'd just said.

"What were your dreams like?"

He managed to calm down and flicked his cigarette away, not caring where it landed.

"Well, when they first happened, I would be wandering the streets of my hometown at night, I'd see someone moving in the shadows & hear a voice calling my name, telling me to come find them. I'd follow the voice & chase after the shadow, but I'd always wake up before I could catch it."

"And...that shadow was me?"

He nodded. "Yeah, with every decade that passed it would change slightly. The shape of the person would become a little more defined, then I'd be able to hear the voice more clearly, then I'd start to see colors, and so on & so forth until I'd catch glimpses of long brown hair & blue eyes."

I may have known about the mate bond, but the thought of someone dreaming about _me_ of all people (for _centuries_ no less!) was still a little crazy to me.

"Even though I only knew what color your hair & eyes were, I still recognized you when I first saw you on the boardwalk. I was actually so shocked that I almost crashed the triumph."

I couldn't help but laugh at that. "That would've been a _great_ first impression, the badass vampire losing his cool over a woman."

He growled before leaning down to playfully nip at my throat. "Watch it Rose."

"Or what? You gonna eat me David?"

"Thinking about it, but you might enjoy that too much." I gawked at him & he gave me a shit-eating grin before putting his hands up in defense as I started slapping the shit out of him.

 _"YOU ARE SUCH AN ASSHOLE!"_ He just laughed before grabbing my hands & capturing my lips with his. I wanted to bitchslap him _so_ bad, but his grip was so strong it was impossible for me to get my hands loose, so I eventually just gave up.

"You know you love me."

I rolled my eyes, but smiled nonetheless. "Yeah, _whatever_."

* * *

 ***Time Skip, Third Person POV***

It was about half-an-hour before sunrise and Luna was the only one still awake. The others (including Laddie & Aya) had gone to sleep almost two hours ago, and she was just about to call it a night herself when she heard the sound of a motorcycle.

She looked up to see her sister walk into the cave with her mate following close behind her and smirked at their appearance.

Rose was sporting a (rather large) bite mark on her neck, and her uneven strides did not go unnoticed as she walked in. Luna shook her head before turning to study David's appearance, and her eyebrows rose to her hairline when she saw that he was sporting quite a few bite marks of his own.

" _Damn_! She really did a number on you huh?" She teased & David gave her a smug smile while Rose flipped her off. She laughed slightly before turning to lead them down the tunnel that led to the sleeping chamber.

"Whoo! Smells like _someone_ had a good time tonight- _OW_!" Paul squawked as David elbowed him in the ribs while Rose smacked him upside the head.

 _ **"Shut up Paul!"**_

He pouted and Luna shook her head in amusement before settling in beside her mate.

' _I was right, coming here really_ was _a good idea after all.'_

She thought with a smile before letting her mind drift away as the sun rose over Santa Carla.


End file.
